


Blind With Love

by hellevator_mp3 (orphan_account)



Category: ASTRO (Band), SEVENTEEN (Band)
Genre: F/F, F/M, How Do I Tag, I Don't Even Know, I'm Sorry, Literally everything soulmate, M/M, Multi, Other, Platonic Soulmates, Reader-Insert, Soulmate-Identifying Marks, Soulmate-Identifying Timers, hanahaki
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-04-07
Updated: 2018-06-27
Packaged: 2018-10-15 21:10:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 17
Words: 39,494
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10557764
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/hellevator_mp3
Summary: Soulmate. Noun. A person ideally suited to another as a close friend or romantic partner.--In a single word, there were so many meanings - past loves, first loves, best friends...the list goes on, but one thing is for certain: fate will lead you to them, no matter what.--These one shots are meant to be gender neutral (unless it's a smut)!





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Honestly, this is my first time trying to write something like this, so please go easy on me...if you wanna, yell at me on my [tumblr](https://lowkey-hansol-trash.tumblr.com). This story will also contain a ton of different people and scenarios, so hopefully I do these amazing men, and eventually women, justice. Also, the super short prologue is crappy, I know.

Life has been a wild goose chase when it comes to your soulmate. But finally, the day came when you finally found the clue you'd been looking for; whether it was the timer marking finally appearing on the inside of your forearm, or the name messily scrawled on the inside of your thigh, or seeing colors in the shape of footprints walking away from you. The day had finally come where you could actually find the person you were meant to be with. But, what if it wasn't all you had hoped it would be? What if they didn't want to be your soulmate? What if the person you loved wasn't your soulmate to begin with? These are all the troubles that come with being - well, you.


	2. Moonbin (Astro)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Since I already have the order of how I'm gonna post these, here's the first one. In case you haven't read reader inserts before, (Y/n) is your name, (e/c) is eye color, (b/n) is brothers name, (f/c) is favorite color, etc.  
> \--  
> Au - Each soulmate has a spirit animal that guides them to the other.  
> Genre - fluff

Sleep seemed to be a fleeting thought in my mind as my eyes snapped open, the light rushing in through the windows stunning me for a split second and causing me to close my eyes tightly. “That’s funny.” I thought, “I could’ve sworn I closed the curtains before I went to sleep.” After a few moments of readjusting, I opened my eyes again and took in the room around me. Except, it wasn’t a room. Smooth stone covered the walls around me as well as the floor, with a small space shaved out to make room for the small nest of blankets I was currently curled up in. I stretched my arms over my head, yawning and rubbing my eyes with a hand that felt like it was made of concrete, before beginning to untangle the cloth from my legs. When it was in a pile next to me, I slowly stood up, somehow managing to pull my ten-ton body up and into a standing position. Wave after wave of dizziness and nausea hit me all at once, and I waited for a minute for it to disappear. When it had subsided, I made my way to the mouth of the cave and peered out for a second so I could take in the view. Trees spread out as far as the eye could see, and from my position, I could see a river running down the side of the mountain that I was currently at the top of. My breath caught in my throat as I realized how high above the ground I actually was. One wrong step, and I’d be tumbling to my death.

Soft footfalls alerted me to the presence by my side. With a small jump, I looked over, my eyes widening at the hairy creature next to me. Deep brown eyes met with my own (e/c) ones, mixed emotions swimming in their depths. As I came to my senses, I realized that it was a wild bear, much like the ones that roamed the forest in my hometown. Taking a deep breath, I began to back into the cave once more, watching as the bear matched each of my steps with one of its own. When I hit the farthest wall, the bear kept walking until its muzzle rested against my lower stomach, warm breaths coming out in short bursts and shooting through my thin shirt. I squeezed my eyes shut, fearful of what would happen if I tried to run.

“Do not worry Child, for I will not harm you.” My eyes flew open at the sound of a deep voice echoing throughout the cave. The bear backed up, opting to rest on his haunches as he watched me with interest. I stared at him with a feeling of disbelief and fear swirling through my body, before allowing my body to relax as I met his gaze. Instantly, I felt warm and fuzzy, and safe. “My name is Koba, and I am your guardian, or spirit animal.” The voice was back again, this time issuing from the mouth of the bear. I shivered as his – Koba’s gaze turned serious, staring at me with such intensity that it made my body stiffen up again. He sighed, before standing up again and making his way to the nest of blankets that I had abandoned.

Slowly, I turned to face him. “What do you mean 'my guardian'?” I asked uncertainly, making bunny ears around the last two words, although I was scared of angering the giant beast. He was easily two or three times my size, and could easily take me out with a swift hit from his paw. He looked up at me, and the intensity melted away to reveal a tender gaze.

Gently, he nuzzled the blankets underneath him, making room for me to sit down and rest on his stomach. “Come and sit, Child, and I will explain everything you need to know.” He replied gently, before I made my way to his side. Although I was quite afraid to turn my back to him, I did it and sat down in the space between his back and front legs, before leaning against his stomach. I rose and fell with every breath he took, the pace slowly evening out under my weight. He took a deep breath, before beginning to talk. “Now, you know that every person is like a piece of a puzzle, and they fit in perfectly with a certain group of other people.” I nodded solemnly, flashing back to the lessons in school where they taught us about the history of the world. At one point, ‘soul mate’ was a word that people used to describe another person that they fit together with perfectly. Now, it was something you couldn’t go a day without hearing, and in some cases, you couldn’t live without them. I was lucky – I wasn’t born with my soul mates name stamped across my skin or a timer attached to my arm, or even the risk of dying if I didn’t meet them. I was born with two eyes of the same color, with hair that stayed the same no matter what, and skin that stayed clean and pure unless I drew on it. I had a different condition to meet than any of the people I knew, and it seemed that it was my spirit animal. “You, my dear Child, have been gifted with a spirit animal to guide you to your soul mate. That’s why I am here. I have come to tell you that your soul mate is currently planning a trip to this very town, and it’s up to you to find him.” Koba continued, staring at me silently when he had finished.

Meanwhile, my mouth was hanging open as I took in the news. “But how will I find him? I mean, it’s a small town, but there are so many people…” I trailed off quietly, my eyes flickering up to meet his before I looked back down at my hands that were currently resting in my lap. I fiddled with the silver chain wrapped around my wrist, before I felt a soft breath caressing my cheek. My eyes snapped closed and I gasped as the image of a boy flashed across my eyelids. He was stunning, to put it simply. The first thing I noticed was the fact that he was pouting, his dark brown eyes were big and puppy-like, and even in a still shot, you could see the mischief dancing in them. His hair was a dark chestnut color, mixed with streaks of black, and hung over his forehead. My heart seemed to beat faster as I took in the angel on Earth, the realization sinking in that he was my soul mate. I opened my eyes once more to stare back at Koba, who looked quite satisfied with himself.

“Keep that in mind, for I will not show you again, as it is very tiring to do.” He replied quietly, before resting his head on his paws once more. “Rest Child, your journey is not quite over yet.” As his soft words washed over me, my eyelids felt heavy and I surrendered to the darkness again, curling into Koba’s side as I did so. The last thing I remember was the feeling of his hair intertwined with my fingers, the softness contrasting sharply with his rough voice.

\--

Rest was once again a fleeting thought in my mind as my eyes snapped open, except the room was dark this time. Reaching out, I felt the soft fabric of my (f/c) sheets, and the comforting weight of my thick quilt resting on top of my body. I looked over at the clock sitting on my dresser, struggling to make out the numbers written in red. “6:59.” I murmured, mind racing as I tried to take in the dream still lingering in my mind. I sat up, wrapping my blankets more securely around my legs as I rested against the mountain of pillows behind me. The image of the mysterious boy was still stuck in my mind, steadily growing fuzzier the longer I was awake, but nothing could make me forget the shape of his smile and the sparkle in his eyes. I stayed perfectly still and tried my hardest to memorize every feature that I could remember. That is, until my alarm clock started going off, filling the once silent room with an annoying trill that could wake even the deepest of sleepers. I attempted to jump up before my blankets constricted around my legs and I fell in a moaning heap on the floor. My head hit the ground with a dull thump that echoed around the room, and I had to stop myself from laughing at my stupidity. I quickly untangled the fabric from my legs, before dragging myself to my feet. I stepped off of the blankets, wincing at the cold that greeted my bare feet, causing goose bumps to rise along my arms and legs. I hurried over to the alarm, and slammed my hand on the “Off” button. With a small sigh, I rubbed my tired eyes and made my way into the bathroom to start getting ready for the day. I quickly washed my face and brushed my teeth, before slipping out of the dark room again. I swung the doors to my wardrobe open, shifting the clothes aside until I found a dark gray hoodie that swamped my frame and fell down just above my knees, and threw it on over top of my skimpy t-shirt, before trading my soft, cotton shorts for a pair of loose-fitting jeans.

I searched around in the drawer seemingly made of underwear until I found a pair of mismatched socks. I pulled them on, before snatching a random pair of shoes and slipping them on as well. Normally, it would take me about three years to get ready in the morning, but I was ready to go and hunt down my mysterious soul mate whose smile was engraved in my mind. I finally slipped on a gray cap that used to belong to my brother, as well as grabbing my wallet and phone, before heading out of my room and down the stairs. "Momma, (b/n), I'll be home in a little bit!" I called as I opened the front door, the old piece of wood groaning as it swung open. I stepped out and closed the door behind me, before jogging out to the street. Town was only a ten-minute walk, and that's where he would likely be. If not, I could get an ice cream cone and go home to relax and binge watch a new show that everyone was talking about. I pulled my phone from my pocket and quickly navigated to the music app. This was something that everyone in my town had in common - we all had a love for music. That's why it was completely normal for me to walk down the street with music blasting from my phone, and dancing. Since it was a small town, everybody knew everybody, and everybody knew of my passion for dancing. Young kids would often join me for lessons during the summer, and adults would stop to watch the little shows we put on. Soon, I was dancing to Good Boy, stepping in time with the beat and even doing a few of the moves. Ethan, a boy I had been teaching who could’ve been no more than 11, was walking on the other side of the street when he caught my eye and raced over to talk to me, without looking to see if there were any cars coming. Luckily, there weren't. We were on a quieter street that wasn't traveled down often, but I still found it in myself to scold him. When I was done with my lecture, he looked up at me with big doe eyes, before spouting some nonsense about Asians and music and tourists and - ohmygoshI'msoexcited.

I stopped him as his face started turning gray from lack of oxygen, before asking him to repeat it again in English. He laughed, before stopping to gather his thoughts. "Emilia said that there's a boy group coming to town today, this group that she really likes but they don't speak English and they're really cool and they're performing in town tonight and-" I cut off his rambling with a hand on his shoulder, before grinning.

“If Emilia likes them, they must be good. I can take you to see them tonight, but only if you run and ask your mom. Okay?” I suggested quickly, eager to see this group as well. Emilia was Ethan’s older sister, and she was only a few months younger than me, so we had become good friends. She always came to pick him up after class, with her short pink hair falling gently over her forehead and her blue eyes shimmering at the happiness that enveloped her little brother. We had started talking soon after that and exchanged numbers so that I would know if she was going to be late picking Ethan up, but that wasn’t the only thing we used it for. There were a lot of nights where we had spent hours on the phone talking about random stuff – from music to dancing to the first song we learned. Everything revolved around music in some way, shape or form. I broke from my thoughts when Ethan wrapped his arms around my waist, squeezed once and ran off shouting “thank you”. I grinned at his childishness, before turning to continue walking. I turned my music off as I stepped in front of the first shop that marked the edge of town.

“I suppose I should go see Ms. Evans and see if that fabric came in yet.” I murmured, checking both sides of the street before crossing. Ms. Evans was like my second mom, and ran the local craft store, called The Scrap Shop, often called Scraps’. She often supplied me with stuff for my dance studio, anything from fabric to make curtains to new mirrors and more. I spent a lot of time in her shop, and soon we had become quite close; she was the person that I talked to the most when I was troubled, and she always had the best advice. When I wanted to dye my hair a crazy color during the summer, she helped me to bleach the (h/c) out of my hair, and slap on the (f/c) over top of my new found blonde. When I went on my first date, she helped me to figure out what to wear and where to go. My shoes slapped against the concrete as I started walking faster, excited to see what new stuff had been stocked in Scraps’ shop. Screams greeted my ears as I drew closer to the center of town, and I looked around to find the source. I quickly realized that the noise was coming from the front of Scraps’ and I heaved a heavy sigh. Instead of trying to push my way to the front door, I walked through a dim alley and into the side door that led to the staff room. Because I was so close to Ms. Evans, she had trusted me with a key to get into the shop at any time that I needed to, which I pulled out from my wallet and unlocked the door quickly. I quietly slipped in, and closed and locked the door behind me. I slipped the key back in my wallet, before putting it in my back pocket, and exited the staff room. Muffled screams echoed throughout the store, although I still had yet to discover the reason for the noise. "Mama J?" I called loudly, peering down an aisle in an attempt to find the store owner. I heard unfamiliar voices closer to the front that seemed to get quieter the closer I got. I walked down another aisle that ended just a few feet before the registers, which is where I assumed Ms. Evans (or Mama J, as I was allowed to call her) would be. I was about to call for her again, when I noticed the large group of people gathered around one of the registers. In their midst, I saw Mama J hovering around, passing out water bottles and wrapped snacks that she generally kept in the staff room for her and I to share, as well as the other employees. A small smile broke across my lips as I watched her tend to the group, before she finally turned and met my gaze. 

 

"(Y/N)!" She called, causing the group to turn in unison and gaze at me with fear in some eyes, and wariness in others. However, I did not expect to see a boy dark brown eyes shimmering gently under the lights, with the very same smile that had been stuck in my head gracing his lips. My jaw dropped as our gazes met, and it seemed like the world froze except for the two of us. It was as if there was an invisible force pulling us together as we unconsciously took a step towards one another. Shimmering red prints - which I soon recognized as bear tracks - appeared in front of me, marking a straight path to the boy that I assumed was my soul mate. The others in the group were completely silent as they watched us make our way to each other, or maybe they were frozen? It really didn't matter to me, because all that mattered at this very moment was reaching the boy. After a few steps, I was within touching range, and that's what I did. I stopped and let him take the last step towards me until we were so close that our breaths mingled and my head was spinning from his close proximity. In the back of my mind, I heard Koba's voice. 

 

"Touch him, then you will be bonded." He called, his voice spilling over me like honey and breaking me from my reverie. Gently, I reached out to place my palm flat against his chest, as he reached out to cup my cheek with his. A quick jolt of pain ran through my body, before I was flooded with a feeling of content and serenity. The boy pulled me into his arms, winding them tightly around me until we were pressed flush against one another. I heard mixed reactions from the group, from noises of disapproval to sweet aww's, and teasing ooh's. I blocked them out and focused instead on the feelings flooding through my body, focusing on the feeling of finding the person that I was destined to be with, that fate led me to. It took a few minutes before we finally separated, and I noticed the light pink dusted across his cheeks.   
He introduced himself in heavily accented English, and I instantly fell for his voice. "I'm Moon Bin." The smile returned to his face, the one that I recognized instantly, that made me smile right back at him.  
"I'm (Y/N). It’s nice to finally meet you, Moon Bin." I replied quietly, before glancing up at the others. There were five more boys watching our interaction, as well as three men dressed in black suits, and Mama J hovering behind them with a look of wonder written across her face. After catching her eye, I mouthed 'I found him.' Her eyes widened, before she smiled and nodded, and turned to the group. She said something to one of the older men in English, who then repeated it to the boys in another language. They all nodded in understanding, although the shortest looked at us with a look of wonder and happiness on his face. I looked back at Bin, before grabbing his hand and leading him back to the group. The other boys made room for us to join the circle, where I was standing in between the tallest boy with a baby face to my left, and Bin, who's hand I still held in my right. I listened to the group talking quietly, but I wasn't absorbing any of the information being shared - my mind was focused completely on the thumb running across the back of my hand, and the smile that graced the beautiful boy who was doing it. 

 

Eventually, the other boys in the group introduced themselves. MJ was first, because he was the oldest. His fluffy, dark brown hair and the mischievous glitter hiding behind his gentle eyes drew me in instantly, but a squeeze on my hand reminded me who was standing by my side. Next was Jinjin, the second oldest and shortest. His two-toned hair was cut short on the sides and fluffy on top, the silver catching the light and seeming to shift color with every turn of his head. His sweet smile made me relax, letting myself get dragged into his easygoing conversation with Moonbin. Eunwoo was next, who I had to look up to because of his height. His serious face seemed scary, with dark eyes hidden underneath equally as dark hair that was tousled slightly from the wind outside, but once he loosened up he seemed like he would be a great person to hang out with. Of course, Moonbin was the third oldest and I already knew him, so he skipped the introduction completely and gestured for Rocky to go next. He seemed laid back, as he leaned against the belt that led to the register, and had a comfortable aura about him that made me want to drop my guard and just relax. Sanha was the taller, although not as tall as Eunwoo, boy that was standing by my other side. The way his golden blonde hair was styled, and the way he smiled made me think of a dog - fun loving and excitable, as well as playful. We all grouped together and let the other adults discuss the plan, while the boys talked about their show tonight, and I leaned into Moonbin's side. He wrapped his arm around my waist, and let me use him as a rest. 

When the time came for them to sneak out the back way, I wasn't ready to let Moonbin go. But, after a lot of convincing and hugs from him and the other members, he finally walked away from me, looking over his shoulder and waving the whole way. But not before he scribbled his phone number on my wrist, kissed the back of my hand, and promised that we would meet again. 

\--  
That day was a year and a half ago. As Astro began to gain popularity, it was hard for Moonbin to find time to talk between interviews, concerts, and practices. At first, we talked every day. That quickly turned to maybe once or twice a week, and finally once a month. Then, it seemed like he dropped off the face of the Earth. I was left in the dark for a few months, with nothing but interviews to keep me updated on his life. Being an idol's soul mate has its perks, I'll admit that, but we weren't allowed to see each other, and we were most certainly not allowed to date because of the policy at his company. But that was okay, because fate had led us to each other once, and it will bring us together again. And I'll be waiting for that day to come, eagerly awaiting the day that he would be in my arms again, but this time to stay.


	3. Jinjin (Astro)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one may be a bit shorter than Moonbin's, but I like it anyways, and I hope that y'all do too. Also, if it's not obvious, the reader is childhood friends with Jinjin, lives in Korea, and speaks Korean fluently. So yay.  
> \--  
> Au - It's impossible to lie to your soul mate.  
> Genre - fluff

Being soul mates with an idol was pretty hard sometimes. He would be practicing choreography or a new song more often than not, and when it wasn't that, it was interviews and tours. Growing up as childhood friends with said idol and soul mate was also hard, because people continually asked me for updates on him when I didn't know what was going on either. But, I said that no matter what I would stick by his side, and I meant it.  
\--  
It was one of the rare times when Jinwoo was home for the holidays, while they were between comebacks. He had stopped by for a few brief moments to say hi, greeting my parents with a smile and me with a hug. Although his hair had changed, as well as the way he dressed, Jinwoo still seemed like the same boy I had known for all of my life. However, when his eyes met mine, I saw something swimming deep in them that nobody else seemed to notice. I gently grabbed his elbow and dragged him to my room, calling to my parents that I wanted to show him the painting I was working on, and get his opinion on it. They both nodded, while Jinwoo just followed after me with a confused expression plastered on his face.

As we walked into the room that was all too familiar to him, I ushered him to the bed before closing the door behind us. He didn't say anything, just continued to stare at me as I sat down next to him. I crossed my legs under me, before facing him. "Something's wrong, and I know it's bothering you." I started slowly, carefully weighing my words before I let them out of my mouth. "And you obviously haven't talked to me or any of the other guys about it, so spill." He looked surprised that I could see through him, before I sighed and gently reminded him of the fact that I had known him since we were kids, and of course I knew when something was bothering him.

Finally, after a few moments of seemingly tense silence, his gaze met mine and he began to speak. "I'm just worried...what if nobody likes us? We've worked so hard on this album and all the choreography, but what if they've completely forgotten that Astro exists? I mean, Rocky's doing his best to help us with learning the choreo, but we mess up so bad sometimes that I wonder if we'll actually be able to debut." All the feelings that seemed to have been locked up inside of him came spilling out, and I gently pulled him to me. "And when I miss my family so bad and you and I don't know if I'm really cut out for this." He whimpered softly into my shoulder. I huffed, before wrapping my arms around him. His arms wound around my waist, gently nuzzling his face into the crook of my neck. My face turned a light shade of pink, as his warm breath swept across my neck and gently dusted over my sweet spot.

"Park Jinwoo, don't you ever let me hear those words come out of your mouth again. You're easily one of the most talented people that I've ever met in my life, aside from G-Dragon, of course." I added the last bit as a joke, and I felt his warm breath puff over my neck again as he laughed, before I continued my 'motivational' speech. "You've got the most amazing personality, and you're so adorable, like, how are the ladies not falling all over you? And the same can be said about the other boys. They're all incredibly talented in their own ways, and I know that you guys are gonna make it big, even if I'm the only fan you have. And you know I'll always be your number one fan." I felt his arms tighten around me as I finished speaking, before warm, wet streaks traced their way down my neck and over my collarbone. Jinwoo sniffled, before pulling away from me and wiping his eyes with his sleeve. When he was done, he looked up at me with big, swollen doe eyes and I swore that he could've never looked more beautiful than he did in that very moment.

"T-thank you, (Y/N)." He whispered faintly, before sniffling again and trying to pull himself together. I allowed a small smile to slip past my defenses, watching as a watery one made its way onto his face as well. After another few minutes of comfortable silence punctuated by small noises from him, he finally announced that he needed to go home and see his family. I hugged him tightly, making him promise to text me before he went to sleep, which he gladly agreed to, before he walked out the door and began walking down the sidewalk to his childhood home. I watched as his back got smaller and smaller, before sliding down the door frame and wondering when it was that I fell in love with my best friend.  
\--  
It was only a few hours later that I was getting ready for bed. Jinwoo still hadn't texted, which I had expected, so I was gathering the things I would need for a shower. As I was pulling out a pair of loose shorts and a baggy t-shirt that smelled faintly of smoke, my phone buzzed on the other side of the room. I was tempted to go check if it was Jinwoo, but I decided to put it off for a moment and instead continued preparing for bed. As I was brushing my teeth, it buzzed again, and one more time as I turned on the water for a shower. I rolled my eyes, before setting the clothing down on the counter and walking to my nightstand to check my phone. It vibrated again, before the screen lit up and "Angel" flashed across the screen, as well as the answer and decline buttons. I groaned, before answering, and holding the phone to my ear.

"(Y/N), you gotta come help me. My parents have some other family over, and their daughter won't leave me alone. She's like, obsessed with me, and her parents are trying to set us up and - oh my God, please send help, she's at the door. If I don't make it out alive, tell my family I love them." I couldn't help but laugh at the desperation in his voice, before I replied that I would be over in a minute. I hung up, before slipping on a pair of worn Converse onto my bare feet, turning the shower off, and dashed to the front door.

"I'll be back in a bit, Jinwoo needs my help."I called hurriedly to my parents, who were lounging on the couch watching a movie. They both nodded, before I slipped out the door and jogged down the street. The lights were all on in the Park house, and I could see shadows dancing in the dining room. I climbed the two stairs to the porch, before ringing the doorbell. Faintly, I heard it ring throughout the house, before thundering footsteps announced the arrival of somebody at the door. I heard a grateful sigh, before the door was pulled open, and I was hurriedly yanked into the house by a hand on my elbow. I tried to sputter out a response, before I was enveloped in somebody's arms, and I smelled the scent that I had known since I was a kid. "Angel - what are you doing?" I asked quickly, before he shushed me.

"Hush, she's standing in the dining room watching us and I told her I already had somebody so please help me out and go along with it." He said hurriedly, before finally allowing me to escape form his tight grasp. My head was spinning from the fact that my best friend had lied and said we were dating. After realizing that he was expecting an answer, I nodded, before glancing at the doorway to the dining room. Sure enough, a girl was standing in the doorway, shooting daggers in my direction. I said nothing, instead opting to stand on my tiptoes to kiss Jinwoo on the cheek. His cheeks flushed red from embarresment, and hers flushed red out of anger. She marched over to us, and wrapped her hand around his elbow, before glaring up at me.

"Jinnie didn't tell me that there would be more guests. Who is this, baby?" She asked, her voice high and nasally. I rolled my eyes, before subtly looking up at Jinwoo, silently asking if I could tear her a new one. He shrugged back at me, before gently prying the girl off his arm.

"I'm (Y/N), Jinwoo's partner." I replied with a smug smirk, before pushing her aside to take her spot holding Jinwoo's arm. He smiled down at me, pressing a soft kiss to my forehead which caused my cheeks to turn a light shade of pink. She stared at the two of us angrily, before stomping back into the dining room, steam seeming to shoot out of her ears. I could barely hold back my laughter at the look on her face, before I buried my face in Jinwoo's chest to let it out before I choked. His chest rumbled as he laughed along with me, before we regained our composure. "Maybe I should go say hi to your parents." I said, slightly breathless. He nodded in agreement, and grabbed my hand gently, before intertwining our fingers and tugging me into the next room. His parents looked up as we entered, taking note of our interlaced fingers, before Mrs. Park stood up to greet me. "Hi, Mr. and Mrs. Park." I said, accepting her hug gratefully. Our eyes met as she pulled away, before she mouthed something that I didn't quite catch. I shrugged it off, before looking over at Jinwoo. He seemed to be locked in a staring competition with the girls father, so I gently tugged on his hand. Startled, he looked at me, before looking back at the girl and her family.

"This is (Y/N) (L/N), my partner. We've been dating for a little while, but I figured now would be the best time to tell you guys." He explained to the people gathered in the room, before he caught his dads eyes. Mr. Park flashed us a thumbs up and a smile, before Mrs. Park gently elbowed him with a small giggle. I felt Jinwoo's grip on my hand tighten as the girls mother got up from her seat, before she enveloped me in a hug and introduced herself. "I'm Ye-Jin Kim, and this is my husband Seung-Won, and our daughter, Eun-Hee." She smiled brightly at me, before going back to her seat, in between her daughter and husband. I smiled back at her, before turning to the Park's.

"I'm sorry if I interrupted anything, I just wanted to stop by and wish Jinwoo a good night in person, since he hasn't been home in so long." I lied easily with a smile, looking up at Jinwoo to make sure he was okay with what I had said. He smiled back at me, before giving me a second to say good night to his parents, as well as their guests, and leading me out of the room and back to the porch. He gently closed the door behind him, before we sat down on the front steps. Gently, he wrapped an arm around my waist, and pulling me so there was no room in between our sides. I rested my head on his shoulder, and allowed myself to relax in his grip. After a moment of sitting in silence, I spoke up. "Can I ask you a question?"

He nodded. "Sure, shoot." He murmured in reply, looking down at me. I pushed myself away from him slightly so that I could see his face, before asking the question that had been creeping in my mind since he called.

"Why me?" He looked confused, before pulling his arm away from me, and intertwining his fingers in his lap. His gaze was focused on the ground, before he hesitantly answered.

"Since I've been gone, I realized how much I missed being here, and being so near to my family and you." I nodded in response to his words, watching his fingers fiddle with one another in his lap. "I spent so many late nights wondering why you were the only thing I could ever focus on, especially when I hadn't talked to you for more than five minutes in a month. Then, I talked to Eunwoo. He told me that maybe, there was a chance that I liked you. I brushed it off, and claimed that we had been friends since we were little, and that's it. Then, I started thinking, and realized that I didn't like you." He paused for a second, allowing my heart to break, but I continued to listen anyways, because I was here to listen to him and I was going to see it through. "I started paying attention to the butterflies I felt whenever I saw a picture of you, how my heart fluttered whenever I heard somebody mention you, how my palms sweated when I got off that plane this morning, how I couldn't stop thinking about you. IrealizedthatIdon'tjustlikeyou, I'mprettysureIloveyou." The last two sentences were slurred together, the words melting into one another like I was melting at his words. He waited in silence for a minute, before getting up, mumbling something about "It's okay if you don't feel the same, I just hope we can still be friends."

Without a second thought, I jumped to my feet and wrapped my arms around his neck, before pulling him to me. "Shut up and kiss me, you fool." I muttered, watching as his eyes widened before his lips pressed to mine and they fluttered shut. Mine followed suit, and our lips moved in sync. The moment seemed perfect, as we sunk further into bliss and his arms wrapped around my waist and pulled my body flush with his; one of my hands rested on the back of his neck, which the other continued up to knot my fingers in his hair. Everything was going right in that moment, until the door slammed open and there was a very loud, very shrill scream that pulled us from our moment. He pulled away, startled, and we both met the eyes of Eun-Hee. She was the one emitting the loud scream, at the sight of us kissing on his porch. The adults came rushing out to see what had caused her distressed noise, and she just pointed silently at the two of us, still wrapped up in each other and our lips a swollen mess. The Kims just looked on, while Mr. Park shot us another thumbs up, and Mrs. Park grinned at us. Eun-Hee stomped off of the porch after pushing me out of her way, and her parents followed after her, but not before complimenting me and Jinwoo on how cute we looked together. I blushed a bright red, while he kindly thanked them.  
\--  
He stayed home for a week, before leaving to debut. In that time, we both discovered that lying to the other was impossible. That's how I knew that I was one of the luckiest people in the world, and I was not just an idol's soul mate, but my best friends as well.


	4. Sanha (Astro)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm finally done with this chapter, and I hope it's okay? If you wanna maybe get updates on chapters and when they should be coming out (or you just wanna yell at me to write a chapter for your bias, whatevs) maybe follow me on Twitter? It's schivo_writes, and I'll be posting updates and shiz on there, so yeah.  
> \--  
> Au - after meeting, soulmates can switch bodies.   
> Genre - fluff

At a quarter to six, sleep was the last thought on my mind as I stared sleepily at my phone. "Wife" flashed across the screen, as well as the decline and accept buttons. For a brief moment, I debated declining it, before realizing that she would just break into my house and haul me out of bed anyways. It was just better to asnwer and get ready by myself, instead of having her forcefully shove me into the bathroom with a stack of clothes and an order to get ready while she brewed coffee and threw together lunches for the two of us. Although, that sounded like a brilliant idea; I answered the phone anyways, not in any way prepared for the screaming on the other line.

"Birdie, I swear to God if you don't stop screaming, I will break into your house at midnight and suffocate you with a marshmallow." I threatened in a low tone, although the use of her childhood nickname let her know I wasn't serious. A burst of laughter came from her, before the sound of a car starting up echoed through the room as I put my phone on speaker. I set it down on the nightstand, before throwing my legs over the edge of the bed and sliding to my feet. I padded to the door that led to my closet, before squeezing into the narrow space and flipping on the light. I dug through the mountain of clothes, finally coming across an acceptable pair of jeans that were snug in all the right places, as well as a plain, white t-shirt that I would trade out for a band shirt when Birdie - or Kassidy, as society demanded I call her - finally showed up. I felt my body slowly waking up, but it took everything I had to grab my phone from my nightstand and not flop back onto the bed. "How long do I have?" I asked her quickly, knowing that she had synced her phone with the car and was listening to me through the car's sound system.

"ETA is...30 minutes? Morning rush." She replied just as quick, and I sighed in relief. "The key's in the same place?" She added, giving me a second to respond with a 'yes' before she cheered, and then hung up. I rolled my eyes at her over-enthusiastic nature, before plugging my phone back into the charger, and dragging my pile of clothes into the bathroom. I turned the shower on, before brushing my teeth and throwing a washrag onto the small shelf in the stall. Quickly, I stripped, before rushing under the hot water before the cold could assault my bare skin. I sighed softly, feeling the water run in relaxing rivers down my back, easing up the muscles in their path. I poured shampoo into the palm of my hand and quickly ran it through my hair, rinsing, and then repeating the process with conditioner. After all, I had to look semi-decent if I was going to be meeting six of the most attractive boys I'd ever seen. I scrubbed from head to toe with body wash, before turning the water off and reaching for a towel to dry off with. Once I was a dry as possible, I dried my hair and got dressed, before tossing the dirty laundry into the basket. Living alone had it's perks, as well as it's flaws - on one hand, I could do laundry whenever I wanted. On the other hand, I normally forgot until I was left with one outfit.

Once I was dressed and ready to go, I walked back into my room to grab my phone off the nightstand, as well as the ring that Birdie gave me a year ago, and my overnight bag, which I slung over my shoulder. Softly, I padded into the kitchen to make some quick breakfast, checking the time as I went. It had only taken fifteen minutes to shower, so I had enough time to quickly make some food for Birdie and I. Intuition told me that she hadn't had enough time to eat, because she had to wake up an hour earlier than me to pack everything into the car, and get herself ready. After taking a second to set my things down at the table, I walked into the kitchen to begin cooking. There were eggs and toast ready by the time she pulled herself into my small apartment, and bacon was sizzling on the stove. She moaned in delight as she flung herself into my arms, mumbling something about "marry me please and cook for me", which I rolled my eyes at, before pushing her off.

"Everything packed?" I questioned her, watching as she nodded with a mouthful of eggs, a fork in one hand and a piece of toast in the other. I shook my head, before she swallowed and started talking.

"I've got the shirt you wanted, it came in yesterday." She said, her voice thick from exhaustion and the food. I couldn't stop the squeal of delight that made its way past my lips, bouncing as I made my way back to the stove to flip the bacon one last time before serving it. She scarfed down her portion quickly, before racing out of the room. The door opened and slammed shut again, but I paid it no mind as I continued shoveling food into my mouth. When I was done, I dumped both of our plates in the sink, and the bacon grease into a container to take out when I got home. When I was nearly done cleaning up, she returned and threw a shirt at my face. I caught it before it slid down to the floor, unfolding it gently. It was a black t-shirt, with Astro written inside the logo; on the back was the logo at the top, with the members names listed in order of age.

"I love it so much, oh my gosh!" I could barely keep my excitement in check as my eyes roamed over the thin shirt, before slipping my shirt off and replacing it with the new one, not caring that Birdie was still standing in front of me. Mostly because she was doing the same thing, pulling on a shirt with the same design on the front, but the back said Jinjin at the top, and 96 under it. If it wasn't obvious, we were getting ready to go to an Astro concert, their first in America. While Birdie had known about them since they debuted, and was a Jinjin stan, I was a new fan and therefore didn't have a bias yet. If I had to pick, though, it would have to be Moonbin. Something about his smile drew me in the first time I watched their videos, making me laugh as I watched the carefree way he acted with his members.

After Birdie was done changing, she threw her old sweater into my room, before marching back to drag me out into the dark, grabbing my things as she went. I quickly locked the door, before racing down the stairs with her, to her brand new car. She unlocked it, before throwing my overnight bag into the back seat, and plopping into the drivers seat to start the car. As I got into the passengers seat, she turned down the radio, which was currently playing Fxxk It, by BIGBANG. She waited until I had closed the door and buckled up, before backing out of the space and driving out of the parking lot. She looked both ways before pulling out onto the street in front of my complex, before navigating to the exit that we needed. Meanwhile, I was scrolling through her music to find something suitable for us to jam to. It was a three hour drive, so I needed to be the best DJ that I could ever be, in order to keep us motivated. Eventually, I pulled out my phone to double check the venue, before letting her know the address of our hotel, and leaning my head against the window to look out at the scenery passing by.  
\--  
I guess that I had drifted off sometime during the drive, because the next thing I knew, Birdie was shaking me awake in the hotel parking lot. The sun was already high in the sky, and the clock on the dash read 9:30 AM. I looked around, before noticing Birdie step out of the car and open the door behind me. Hurriedly, I unbuckled my seatbelt and stepped out of the car as well to help her retrieve our things, slinging my bag over my shoulder when she passed it to me. She left our posters in the trunk, as well as the light sticks she had bought last minute for the two of us. We divvied up everything else, before slamming the doors shut and locking the car up. While juggling our bags and keys, we somehow made it into the hotel to check in. After Birdie got our keycard, we headed up to our room on the third floor, and went on the hunt to find our room. 

"We're looking for room...395." She said quickly, looking down at the card in her hand. I nodded, before speed walking down the hallway to find our assigned room, and calling her nickname when I found it. She trotted down the hallway towards me, before sliding the keycard into the lock and unlocking the door for us to go in. I pushed the door open, before throwing my bag onto the bed closest to the door and flopping down soon after. The plush sheets swaddled me, and I moaned in delight. 

"Don't try getting me up, Birdie, until it's time to leave." I called to her, closing my eyes and sinking further into the softness. That is, until I felt a rather large weight on my back, pushing my face into the mattress. She giggled right by my ear, before relaxing and letting me push her to the side. We just laid there for a brief few moments, before she crawled across the bed to grab her bag, which she promptly threw at my face with a loud laugh.

After crawling back to my side, she said, "Don't go to sleep, you need to do my makeup." I rolled my eyes at her, before sitting up and gesturing for her to scoot closer. She made a face, before grabbing the bag from me to dig through it. I waited until she had found a hairband to hold her lavender hair back with, before grabbing her makeup bag from the bottom and unzipping it, before dumping it's contents onto the bed. I dug through the small pile, managing to find what I needed to start. I quickly applied her makeup, before throwing all of the products back into the bag and tossing it to her to put up again. She checked her phone, the screen giving her face an eerie glow as she checked the venue one last time, before glancing at me. "We should get going, before the crowd gets even worse." She chirped, before turning her phone to show me. People were tweeting selfies from outside the venue, surrounded by a large crowd. I sighed in dismay, before getting up and digging in the front pocket of my bag for my ticket, a white marker that I had thought would come in handy, as well as searching for my phone.

When I couldn't find it, I shrugged. "I think I left my phone in the car again." I told her, before urging her to get up and walk out the door with me. She groaned for a second, before getting up and skipping out of the - now open - door, letting me lock it behind us. As I joined her in front of the elevator, she leaned her head on my shoulder and sighed. 

"I can't believe this is real. I'm going to see Astro in person, and they're gonna sign my album and (Y/N), this is the best day of my life - thank you!" She grappled me in a hug, and all I could do was laugh. I really was the reason that we were going - tickets had gone on sale the day before her birthday, and I figured that it would be a late birthday present for her. So I got two tickets, and told her that we would go together. I also got V.I.P passes, so that we could go backstage and meet the boys after the concert. This was the part that excited both of us the most, but I had requested that we pick the passes up at the gate instead of keeping them with us and potentially losing them. After a minute of her squeezing the life out of me, the elevator reached our floor and we walked in, before punching the button for the ground floor. We spent the entire ride in silence, after taking a few selfies for Snapchat and Instagram - where Birdie gushed about going to the concert with her best friend. I rolled my eyes at her excitement, before smiling at her. 

When we finally made it out of the elevator and to the car, I waited until she had unlocked the car, before I dug my phone out of the cup holder in the center console, and unlocked it to check my notifications. My phone was blowing up, because she had tagged me in every single photo that was taken, and so many people were liking and commenting for us to have a good time. I turned my phone off again as she started the car, before pulling out of the parking spot and out to the street. She quickly navigated to the venue, and drove around the parking lot to find a space. After ten minutes of no luck, she finally found one that was a short distance away from the doors. "We can wait out here until it's almost time to go in." She said, shrugging as she leaned her seat back and relaxed. I rolled my eyes at her, before grabbing my phone once more to text my other best friend, lovingly nicknamed Bambam (no, not from Got7) that we had gotten there safe. He told me to have fun, before leaving to go take care of his baby brother. I resorted to play random games, passing the time before we could go in. 

After an hour had ticked by, I felt myself growing bored with the car that was steadily growing stuffy. "Birdiee~ Let's go up there and make some friends~" I chirped at the sleepy girl beside me, before unbuckling my seatbelt and opening the door so I could jump out of the car, my phone in hand. She groaned in response, before following my lead and getting out of the car as well. I shoved my phone in my pocket, before opening the trunk to grab our posters while Birdie grabbed the light sticks. We took our respective items, before making our way up to the crowd of people screaming. Why were they screaming? Because Astro was currently outside of the venue, in the midst of a sea of girls screaming and begging for attention. The two tallest were the only ones to be seen over the heads of fans, and my eyes met with the younger looking one of the two. I felt a splitting pain in my head, causing me to crouch down and drop the things in my hand as I brought my hands to my head in an attempt to stop the pain, shutting my eyes tightly. When I opened them again, the pain was still there, but lessened when I stood up again. After reassuring Birdie that I was okay, we made our way up to the crowd of people around the boys. 

Eventually, the group had to go in and get ready to go on stage, but not before my eyes met with the youngest members' again. This time there was no pain, but a slight tingling in my chest. When he broke eye contact, the feeling faded and we waited for another ten minutes before going in and finding our seats. Throughout the whole concert, I found myself screaming along with the other fans, waving my poster and lightstick, as well as singing along to the songs I knew.  
\--  
My throat was tight and aching by the time the group said goodbye, the lights and music turned off, and fans began leaving the stadium. I, however, walked with Birdie to the gate to grab our passes to go backstage. We were quickly joined by a smaller group of people, all of whom were wearing huge smiles and were excitedly jumping around. The meet and greet went pretty quickly, aside from the fact that Birdie and I somehow ended up at the end of the line. We waited patiently until it was time for her to go up and talk to MJ, while I waited behind her. The boys were in order, from oldest to youngest, which Birdie pointed out before it was her turn. So you started with MJ, and worked your way down to Sanha, the maknae. I watched their easy smiles, the way they treated the fans sweetly and kind words, with a few easygoing jokes thrown in here and there. When it was finally my turn to stand in front of MJ, I took a deep breath before asking if he could sign my shirt in shaky Korean, offering the white marker from my pocket. He took it with a smile, leaning over the table and gesturing for me to do the same, before scrawling his name messily on the shoulder of my shirt. I saw Jinjin look over at the two of us, noticing our closness and saying something that I couldn't catch in rapidfire Korean. It must've been something bad, because MJ's cheeks flushed a bright red color and he leaned back in his seat, before replying at the same speed. 

The only two words that I managed to catch were 'shirt' and 'sign', so I assumed that he was explaining what he was doing to Jinjin. The younger nodded in understanding, before gesturing for Birdie to move up so he could talk to me. He shot me a smile, before talking to me in very basic English. His accent was thick, and slurred some of the words together, but his pronunciation was fairly good, and I felt myself relaxing and enjoying my time with him, before I asked if he could sign my shirt as well, which he did; his signature scrawled across my collar bone, the marker digging gently into my flesh and making me giggle. He flashed a bright smile, before gesturing for me to move up. Eunwoo had the coolest aura out of them all, exuding confidence, but his adorable nature shined through as he tried his hardest to make conversation in English, sometimes substituting basic Korean words for the English words he didn't know. I grinned, before repeating the same question I had asked the other two, leaning closer so that he could sign my other shoulder. He handed my marker back, uttering a sweet goodbye as I moved onto Moonbin. Meeting his gaze had my heart racing, and his adorable smile made it hard to keep a straight gaze - especially not when the first thing he asked was if he could sign my shirt as well, in broken English. I couldn't stop the giggle from passing my lips, before nodding in reply, letting him sign down the sleeve. When it was almost time to move again, I asked for a hug, which I recieved. He sent me off with another heart melting smile, and a small wave that I returned. Rocky passed by quickly in a similar fashion, as he repeated what Moonbin had said, signing my other sleeve, and Birdie was waiting off to the side as I stood in front of Sanha. She was clutching her poster tightly, which I noticed was covered in signatures as well, but my focus was on the youngest in front of me. When I referred to him as dong saeng, he grinned before asking if he could 'sign his hyung/noona's' shirt. When I nodded, he got to his feet and walked around the table. The others watched as he got down on his knees in front of me, scrawling a messy signature across the bottom of my shirt with my white marker, before snatching a black marker from the table and writing something on the inside of my wrist.

He looked at me, and whispered on word that would stay in my mind for weeks afterward. "Soulmate." This was followed by him gesturing to himself, and then me, before walking back around the table and retaking his place. His groupmates gathered around him, shooting questions in their native language, all the while he waved happily at Birdie and I, before we left. The second we walked out of the stadium, she grabbed my wrist to check what was written. Her unhappy sigh made me look down, taking note of the Korean characters scrawled across my wrist. The reason for her disappointment was that I was the only one between us two that could read what it said, which was a relief. The eight characters seemed to be numbers, but it would have to wait until I got home before I could figure out which ones they were. As soon as we reached the hotel, I grabbed a pen and paper, before quickly scrawling down the numbers so I wouldn't lose them.

\--

It wasn't until a few days later that I rediscovered the paper, after unpacking my bag to wash the dirty clothing inside. It was almost time to pass out for the night, and I had stumbled across the overnight bag that accompanied me to the concert, which was still full of merch and such that I had taken with me. Hurriedly, I dropped what I was doing, and skipped into my room to find my binder full of Korean vocabulary (which I had given up on learning). I shuffled through the pages, until I saw the one marked "numbers" in bold marker at the top, stopping to scan the page. I compared the characters on the page to the ones that were originally written on my arm, grabbing a pen to write down the numbers after I translated them. When I was done, I closed the binder before going to find my phone and input the number. I went added a new contact, and entered his number before saving it under "Sanha?". Afterwards, I plugged my phone into my charger, before glancing around my messy room with the poster covered walls, and sighing as I slipped into bed without even changing into pajamas. 

\--

To my half asleep mind, an unfamiliar voice echoing throughout my room was so unimportant that I didn't realize that the person was talking in a different language. The deep tone filled the air, but I simply ignored it and rolled to my other side so I could go back to sleep. However, my mind cleared and I froze when the next words processed in my mind, and I realized what was going on. 

"Sanhaa~ Wake up~" The voice called, before a large weight fell on me. I let out a groan of pain, before pushing the person off of me, and rolled over to face them once more. Staring back at me were the deep brown eyes of Park Minhyuk, otherwise known as the main dancer and lead rapper of Astro, Rocky. My eyes widened, and I jumped up from the bed, before hurriedly trying to locate the bathroom. When I finally opened the right door, I threw myself in and locked the door behind me, before flicking the light on and staring at my figure in the mirror. Just as I thought, Sanha's face stared back at me and I cursed under my breath, gently prodding his - or my? - skin, watching as the skin indented slightly under my touch. After a few moments of careful examination, I finally noticed the phone charging on the counter. I picked it up, before turning it on and unplugging it. I sat down on the floor in front of the bathtub, before swiping up to figure out what kind of password he had. The pin pad confronted my eyes, and I stared at it for a second before entering a series of random numbers in order to prompt the phone to show his hint. Luckily, it showed up after two tries, saying simply "birthday". I frowned for a second, digging back in my memory to try and remember when his birthday was. The date that popped into my mind was March 21st, when Birdie had dragged me to a cafe in order to 'celebrate', even though I had no idea why we were celebrating, or who Sanha was, but I was interested in free food so I went along with it. 'Thank God for Birdie.' I thought, entering the number and unlocking the phone. Through the door, I heard Rocky get off the bed and pad over to the door, so I got to my feet, turned his phone off, and opened the door, before telling him that I didn't feel well and was going back to sleep. He nodded in understanding, before patting my shoulder and leaving the room. 

As I plopped down on the plush bed, I looked around and took in my surroundings, recognizing them as a hotel room. After unlocking the phone again, I scrolled through his apps, searching for the phone app that would allow me to call myself and check up on him. I entered my number quickly, listening to it ring and praying that he would answer. After three rings, the other line picked up and I heard my raspy, sleepy voice say "Hello?". 

I sighed in relief, before quickly answering. "Sanha?" A sleepy 'mhm' followed the name, and I continued on. "It's (Y/N), your...soulmate." I heard him take a sharp breath, before he fired something off in rapid Korean. Although I could barely catch what he was saying, I replied quietly in my poor Korean for him to slow down, and meet me at his hotel. I told him my password, before saying that I would call Birdie and have her drive him here. He hung up after a quick goodbye, and I dialed Birdie's number, hoping that she was awake and willing to drive. She picked up on the second ring, spitting out a angry yes, before asking who it was with the confusion evident in her voice. I ignored it, and began to talk. "Birdie, I need you to do me a favor. I somehow switched bodies with my soulmate, so I need you to go to my apartment and pick him up and drive him over here. Hopefully he knows what hotel this is, because I sure as hell don't. Also, good luck." I spit out quickly, and hanging up before she had a chance to reply. I knew she was likely confused, but hopefully she would drive over there anyways and pick Sanha up. In the meantime, I entertained myself by playing one of the many games installed on his phone. About a half hour later, there was a knock at the door, before Birdie waltzed in like she owned the place. When I saw my slightly smaller figure behind her, I sighed in relief. Sanha stepped forward, rushing into my arms and nuzzling his - again, my? - face into my - or his? - chest. I wrapped my arms around him, before meeting Birdie's eyes, mouthing a quick thank you before sitting down on the bed with Sanha. Birdie left the room, probably to go hang out with her bias - who she could barely talk to anyways. 

When I felt Sanha move, and felt his breath racing across my chest, I realized that he was talking. He mumbled something in choppy English, and the only word I heard was 'kiss'. That was the last thing that happened, before lips were on mine and I was kissing myself. My eyes fluttered shut, and I felt a jolt of pain run through my body, before I opened my eyes and realized that I was looking up at Sanha. I pulled out of his grip, jumping up from the bed to examine myself and make sure that I was in the right body again, before cheering for joy. Sanha looked down at himself as well, before joining me in my small victory dance. While it was fun to be tall for a bit, I was happy to be in my own body once more. 

After saving my number in his phone, we parted with a hug and a promise on my end that I would help him learn English so that we could communicate easier, and in return, he would teach me Korean. Birdie and I left the hotel suite, before entering the elevator and started the ride down to the ground floor. She shot me a look that clearly stated that I would be telling her everything when we got home, and I just laughed before nodding. 

\--

Two and a half years later, Sanha and I were still going strong. While his English had improved greatly, he still messed up pronunciation sometimes, but it was getting easier to communicate. The same went for my Korean, which was improving more and more every day. When he was gone on tour, we would text nonstop when we could. There were many rough patches and we had several fights over the years, but I realized that it was totally worth it in the end. The times we spent together were precious to me, and I wouldn't trade them for the world.


	5. Eunwoo (Astro)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This one may be shorter than the other three, but I really wanted to try something different, so yeah. The au isn't really mentioned a lot, except for the first couple of paragraphs, but this was written really quickly and I didn't want to overwhelm the story with it. Also, I didn't name the girl, so feel free to use your own name for her.  
> \--  
> Au - soulmates have a red string of fate connecting them.  
> Genre - angst

People often said that soulmates belonged to each other, in more ways than just one. They said that soulmates were bound to one another, that they were stuck with whoever fate had paired them with. This was especially true for certain couples - the ones who had literally been tied together for all of eternity, destined to find one another no matter what life they were leading. I was one of the lucky ones, who had found my soulmate at a very tender age and vowed to find him in our next life, that I would search to the end of the Earth until I saw my red string again. 

He had agreed wholeheartedly to my declaration, before murmuring a confession of his own - promising that the love we shared would be undying, would bloom forever and never end. We linked pinkies, watching as the red strings that tied us together intertwined and knotted, sealing our fate. I believed every word passing his lips, believed him when he claimed that we would be together forever and he would never want anyone else. I believed him when he slid the ring on my finger, promising to replace it with a real ring one day at the altar. Our love was young and naive, but it was wholesome and pure. He was the boy that every mother loved, the one that fathers would be okay with him dating their daughters. He was the boy that I swore to myself that I'd spend the rest of my life with, as well as the next ones. 

The day that he came home tasting of cheap whiskey and smelling of hard cologne, I believed him when he said he went out for a few drinks with the boys. I believed him when he uttered the three words that would forever make my heart beat faster, before pushing me back on the bed and making me forget every word I knew that wasn't his name. I believed him when he said the scratches on his back were from work, that the boys had been rough housing, that he had fallen and scraped his back up on the way down. I believed him when he said the faint whiff of perfume that I had caught was that of an elderly lady that stopped by work with pastries and coffee. I believed every lie that passed his lips, accepting them without reason because he was my soulmate and he'd never lie to me. At the end of the night, we linked pinkies once more, something that had become a nightly ritual. It was the only time we ever paid attention to the red strings, as they glowed brightly between our hands.  
\--  
The day he came home drenched from the rain, his white t-shirt clinging to his body in all of the right places and showing off the bruises littering his skin, his hair even messier than it would have been from the wind, I felt my heart breaking into a million pieces. I texted my best friend and asked her to call, to say that there was an emergency and she needed me to come up there right away. He believed me when I lied and claimed everything was okay, as I packed an overnight bag. I kissed him goodbye, before climbing into my car and driving halfway to my friends house, before pulling off onto the side of the road and breaking down. I curled into myself, as far as my seatbelt would allow, the sobs racking my body and my chest tightening rhythmically in time with my cries. After a few moments of weakness, I pulled myself together and continued on my way to the only home I had left. She was waiting on the front porch, and the first words out of my mouth were "I think Eunwoo's cheating." She took me inside, and I broke down for the second time that day on her couch, wrapped in her comfort.  
\--  
The next morning, I left at the crack of dawn and drove home. I promised myself that I would keep it together, and if there happened to be a stranger in our home, I would pack up and leave. As silently as possible, I unlocked the door and stepped inside, before cautiously making my way to the room. I knew Eunwoo was likely still asleep, as it was still in the wee hours of the morning. I crept into our room, illuminated by the light shining in from the street lamps. I saw his face buried into the pillow, dark hair spreading out around like a halo. I saw the sheets wrapped around his broad shoulders. I saw his arm peeking out from the covers, and I followed it to the other side of the bed. There, I saw a pale form with deep red hair covering her face, the sheets creeping dangerously low and threatening to expose what I assumed was bare skin. I felt the bile creeping up my throat, before I pulled the promise ring off my finger and dropped it silently onto his nightstand, before rummaging through our closet to gather an armful of clothing. I silently crept out of the apartment once again, leaving him to sleep with his newfound lover while I tried to keep it together on the ride away from here. When I made it back to my friends house, she was awake and waiting for me with welcoming arms. She listened as I openly sobbed and broke down in front of her, explaining what I had saw. She held me tenderly, rubbing gentle circles into the small of my back and trying to ease me with sweet words.  
\--  
The next few months were like hell - I found myself falling into a pattern of missing him and then hating him, the cycle repeating over and over until I was sick of it. After a week of staying with my the girl who felt like home no matter where we were, she helped me delete everything that had to do with him. I put a picture of her and I as my wallpaper on my phone, the one where we were both making crazy faces before we laughed until our stomachs hurt. That was one of the good days. Other days, I could barely stomach the idea of getting out of bed. She would come lay with me on those days, turning on the TV to some movie that neither of us cared about as she silently laid by my side until I drifted off to sleep.  
\--  
As the months progressed, I found myself falling for her. She had admitted that she liked me in more than a friend way in the past, but I couldn't bring myself to tell her how I felt. That is, until we were in town one day and I saw a flash of bright red hair. It caught my eye, and I couldn't stop myself from looking at the person by her side. My breath caught in my throat as I took in Eunwoo from a distance - his smile seemed brighter, eyes shaped like crescent moons as he grinned down at the girl, before dragging her up until their lips met. I couldn't stop the sick feeling from spreading throughout my body, as I rushed into a nearby cafe and to the bathroom. I dry heaved over the toilet, before the girl that felt like home joined me in the small room, fingers running gently up and down the length of my back, as well as making sure that my hair was out of my face. When my stomach settled down, she gently wiped down my face with a wet paper towel, before drying it and gently tugging me out of the bathroom. I sat down at a table by the window, watching her as she ordered drinks for the two of us, and a muffin to split. I thanked her, before taking a sip of the hot drink in front of me, and deciding to spill the truth that was holed up in my heart. When she heard what I had to say, she leapt across the table and kissed me.  
\--  
It had been a year since the day I confessed. We had decided to downsize, moving into a small apartment closer to the city. We would often walk around town with our hands linked and fingers intertwined, matching silver rings adorning our ring fingers. After a trip to get some new clothing, we were walking home when I saw him. I was smiling and laughing because of a joke that she had told, when he caught my eye. I felt a familiar longing in my chest, one that I still had yet to totally repress, and I felt sadness as I took in his ruined appearance. There were dark bags under his eyes, and his clothes looked too big for his far too skinny frame. I pitied the boy, sure, but it was his choice to do this. Eunwoo looked up, staring at me until he was sure of who I was. As he made his way towards us, her hand tightened around mine and I looked over at her. "I don't want him anymore." I promised her quietly, watching as he examined our intertwined fingers and the silver ring shining on her hand, taking notice of the matching one adorning my finger. He passed by the two of us, but not before whispering that he missed me. It took everything I had to not take him into my arms, before she tugged me forward and on the way back to our home. 

That night, a text from an unknown number came through. It only said "I'm sorry, I miss you.", which I debated answering. I decided not to - I would wait until my next life to make another mistake like that. However, I had enough heartbreak to last a lifetime, and I wasn't about to let the cause come back into my heart.


	6. MJ (Astro)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It literally took me so long to find the motivation to finish this...I'm sorry about that, y'all. It's pretty short, but I thought that was an okay place to end it.  
> -  
> Au - Soulmates have the same tics (drumming fingers, humming, etc)  
> Genre - Fluff, slight angst

"Soulology". The pointless class with the equally as pointless name that was beginning to spring up in schools across the world as people discovered the person, or persons, that they were meant to spend the rest of their lives with - aka, their 'soulmate'. The class was supposed to prepare us to go out into the world and find out who it is that we're meant to be with, whether it is romantic or platonic. The class that informed us of the fact that we had no choice in who we end up with, that we'll forever be stuck with them and that they're the only ones that will ever love us. That we're tied to them by fate, and nothing will ever feel like the love they provide. Luckily, I was one of the few in class that already found my platonic soulmate in a person who lived halfway across the world, but still no luck in the romantic part. 

How I had ended up in that class, in my final year of college, I'll never know. Just before the lesson started, students were gathered around the desks in groups gossiping away and talking. I sat quietly on the back row, my old and cracked phone in my hands as I texted away to my best friend and platonic soulmate, a Vietnamese girl by the name of Quinn. She was sending paragraphs and screenshots from the fight that she had with her girlfriend of three and a half years, fretting over the fact that they hadn't talked since the night before. I told her that they needed to make up, and was about to send it when the bell rang. I quickly tapped the send button, before shutting it off and shoving my phone into the front pocket of my hoodie. I readjusted my position, resting my elbows on the desk and my chin in one palm, allowing my eyes to slide shut. However, the slam of a door caused me to jolt and my eyes to shoot open again. The source of the noise was a middle aged man striding in the door, dragging a slightly younger person behind him, and slamming the door shut behind them. Mr. Harris, the teacher, was grumbling something under his breath that made the students in the front row "ooh" and gasp, but I couldn't hear it from the back row. He dragged the boy, who I recognized as one of the schools 'sensational six', over to his desk and making him sit down in one of the desks in the front row. 

The Sensational Six was a group of six boys who thought they ran the school because of their good looks and talent, as well as their ability to bend anyone to their will - even teachers. Although all the boys were bad in their own ways, there were two that outdid the others almost every day. Kim Myungjun was one, and the only one that I had personal experience with, being that he used to be the one person in the world that I trusted with everything, including my heart. When he learned that I had feelings for him, he turned his back on me and walked away, but not before crushing my heart under his heel. The memory still stung even after a few years of separation, but the feelings came back with a vengeance at the beginning of the year when I walked into class and saw him sitting at the front of the room. Soon after the year started, we began to learn about the things that soulmates can share. One of them was tics, which I realized was what connected me to MJ. We both had a habit of humming nonsense under our breathe when nervous, as well as messing up the exact same words at the same time. However, I decided soon after this realization that he would not affect my schoolwork, and so I ignored him. 

The other was Park Minhyuk, but I only heard rumors about him. Among the remaining four, there was Park Jinwoo, Moon Bin, Yoon Sanha, and Lee Dongmin. While I had never had a full conversation with any of them, I did borrow notes from Park Jinwoo, more commonly known as Jinjin, to study for a test that we had a few days ago. He had happily obliged, flashing a stunning smile my way that made my heart thump faster in my chest, before handing me a stack of notes from the last lesson. I had thanked him profusely, before turning and heading to my seat with cheeks that felt like they were on fire. I copied them diligently, as well as the notes for that lesson, and returned his notes before leaving the classroom. I had no idea about the longing look that he sent me as I walked away. 

I was suddenly dragged back from my thoughts as a person tapped their fingers on my desk, drawing my attention to the figure that had appeared in front of me. It was the man of the hour, Myungjun. "Jinjin wants to talk to you after class. Meet him by the cafeteria." He simply said, before strutting off and out of the classroom - presumably to the principals office. I stared after him, wondering why he was the messenger, before shrugging it off, listening as Mr. Harris began droning on about the different situations that soulmates may find themselves in. My mind wandered over the reasons why Jinjin could want to talk to me, but I couldn't figure out a reason, instead opting to space out until the bell rang and signaled the end of class. I slowly gathered my notes, and shoved them into a folder in my bag, stalling until the class was nearly empty and I wouldn't have to fight to get out. I zipped my bag up, before slinging it over my shoulder and leaving the classroom to begin the hunt for Jinjin. After pushing past what seemed like a million people, I finally emerged from the crowd in front of the cafeteria. I took a second to look around, before realizing that I was too short to see over the heads of the people that were still gathered in front of the cafeteria. 

I saw a flash of platinum blonde hair before a figure struck mine, sending the two of us tumbling to the ground. All the air that was once in my lungs was pushed out in a huff, under the weight of the person on top of me. With a groan, he sat up, his knees on either side of my hips. Our eyes met, and I realized with a start that it was the man I was looking for, which I silently thanked God for. A bright smile lit up his face, before he seemed to recognize the position that we were in and a blush flooded his pale cheeks. He scrambled off me, and offered his hand once he was standing. I accepted gratefully, allowing him to pull me to my feet. With his hand still wrapped around mine, our eyes met and he opened his mouth to speak, before a loud voice called his name. Yoon Sanha seemed to appear out of nowhere, seemingly teleporting to his side to grab his arm. Jinjin looked up at the younger boy, listening intently to the gibberish that was spewing from his mouth. With a nod and a short reply, he sent the boy on his way before turning back to me. 

"Sorry about that...I didn't mean to run you over." He joked lightly, flashing me another blinding smile. I grinned back, assuring him that it was okay, before looking down at our interlocked hands. He followed my gaze, quickly pulling his hand out of mine and apologizing profusely once more. "This isn't going anything like I planned, but I needed to ask you something." He added, looking down at his hands with a blush rising anew on his cheeks. "Doyouwannagooutonadatewithmesometime?" He asked quickly, slurring his words together. I stared at him, confused, for a split second before deciphering what he said. A blush akin to his spread across my cheeks, before I nodded furiously. It took him a second to process, before he grinned and pulled me into his arms for a tight hug. I giggled lightly, burying my face in his chest and inhaling his scent. His chest vibrated, and I realized he was laughing, the breathy sound light and airy. "Did you - did you just sniff me?" He asked, breathless from laughing. When I nodded against his chest, he burst out laughing which led me to join him a few seconds later. The bell rang, breaking us from our little bubble. Neither of us knew how long we'd been standing there, but obviously lunch was over and it was time to go to class once more. I looked around frantically, noticing that the hallway was completely empty, before looking back at Jinjin. He grabbed my hand and interlocked our fingers gently, sending me a look to ask if it was okay. I nodded quietly, before we took off running for our only shared class. 

What neither of us noticed, however, was the boy hiding in the shadows by the water fountain. He watched our entire exchange, from beginning to end until he felt the jealousy boiling in his chest. Kim Myungjun was never jealous. However, at this very moment, he was jealous that his best friend had worked up the nerve to ask out the person of his dreams. The person that he rejected years ago. The person that he loved from the start. The person that he had lost because he couldn't accept his feelings.

And now, the person he loved was walking away from him with the boy he considered his brother. Nothing broke his heart more than thinking about that.


	7. Rocky (Astro)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Y'all, I'm finally getting back into writing often. I'm also on summer break, so expect a bunch of uploads. ALSO. (H/S) means home state, and (C/N) is cats name.  
> \--  
> Au - One soulmate receives a letter detailing their first meeting with the other.  
> Genre - Fluff

The day the letter arrived, I was astonished. To put it simply, I went out to get the mail, and was opening it on the way back. There was a letter with no return address, but my name written in beautiful cursive across the front. After spending a few moments staring at it blankly, I ripped the top edge open and pulled out the heavy paper. Gently, I unfolded it and stared down at the words written in black ink. The words seemed to dance across the page, smoothly transitioning from one letter to another. I shook myself out of the reverie, glancing once more at the letter to actually read it and process what it said. I skimmed through it quickly, stopping when I saw the word soulmate flash across my vision. After a minute of rapidly blinking, I backtracked to read the whole sentence. "This letter was delivered to inform you of the impending meeting with your soulmate. Sometime after you receive this letter, you will meet the person that you are destined to be with in the most unlikely place, and the most unlikely kiss." I read the words out loud, shaking my head at the dramatic tone. I continued skimming through the rest as I walked back up the stairs in front of my apartment building, until I reached the fourth floor. Then, I walked down the near empty hallway, pausing to have a short conversation with my elderly neighbor. She was old enough to be my grandmother, and tended to treat me as such. After a few minutes of chatting, she steered the topic into my love life, which I quickly avoided.

"Ahjumma, you know I don't have time to date." I replied with a laugh. She rolled her eyes at me, before laughing as well. "I'm far too busy at the school to have a relationship with anyone but my bed." I added jokingly, watching as she laughed even harder at my corny addition. Before I left, she handed me a container full of cookies, and made me promise that I wouldn't eat them all at once, to which I replied that I wasn't making any promises. She laughed and hugged me, before I could leave. I waved goodbye and made my way to the door of my apartment. I noticed that the door was slightly ajar, which was more than likely my fault. Oftentimes, I didn't close the door all the way when I was in a rush, which I was. While I lived in Seoul, South Korea by myself, the rest of my family was scattered around (H/S), in the United States. So, when I was expecting a letter from my mother, I would rush downstairs first thing in the morning to check the mail, which often led to the door being left open and my cat getting out. Speaking of the cat...I pushed the door open slightly, peering inside to make sure that (C/N) was were I left her. With a sigh of relief, I noticed her small form curled up on the couch. However, the relief quickly faded when I saw the figure sleeping next to her. "Rockyy~" I whined, setting everything in my hands down on the kitchen countertop, before making my way into the living room to shake the young boy awake. With a tired groan, he reached his hands out and grabbing my waist, before yanking me into his arms and curling up around my body. Annoyed, I groaned before trying to free myself. 

"Just five more minutes, noona." He muttered sleepily, burying his face in my shoulder to avoid the light. I rolled my eyes at the statement, before giving up. Rocky was my downstairs neighbor, a senior in the same high school that I taught at. He was often soft spoken, but rowdy when he was with the rest of his friends. However, he was always well behaved in the classes that he had with me. Other students had claimed that it was because he had a crush on me, but I had decided long ago that I would do my best to not develop feelings for my students. Especially when said student lived in my apartment complex, and oftentimes came to my apartment for tutoring and to hang out when his mother was out - because she didn't trust him to stay home by himself, but trusted me to watch him until she was home. Honestly, I thought it was ridiculous. The boy was fixing to turn eighteen, and was mature enough to take care of himself. I wouldn't complain about having company while I graded work, however. He was also one of the top students in my class, which is why I trusted him to help me grade. Although it wasn't exactly allowed, I would hand him a stack of papers and let him work by my side, but only on the work from other classes. I was broken from my thoughts when he shifted under me, wrapping his arms tighter around my waist and shifting his face from my shoulder to my neck, his warm breath dusting over my neck.

With a shiver, I tried once again to wake him up. "Park Minhyuk, if you don't wake up..." I murmured under my breath, shifting in his hold so that I could shake him awake. With a start, I felt his soft lips press against my neck, moving as he spoke. It took everything I had to keep calm, and keep my breathing even. 

"But noona, mom left early and locked me out, so I came up here to sleep." He replied tiredly, his voice husky and rough. My breath caught in my throat, before I forced myself to breathe again. Although I told myself I wouldn't develop feelings, I couldn't help but feel a pull to the boy. But I would never admit to anyone that I liked my student, even to the student himself. Once again, I tried to wiggle out of his grip. Finally, he released me with a sigh. 

I rolled my eyes at the young boy, before walking into the kitchen and opening the fridge. "Do you wanna eat yet?" I called, adding a quick, "I'll make you whatever you want." I heard him shift on the couch, before he called back with a request for breakfast. The tv turned on as I was shuffling around the kitchen gathering ingredients, and it was just loud enough that I didn't hear him walk into the kitchen. I didn't notice his presence until he wrapped his arms around my waist, and rested his head on my shoulder. I almost jumped out of my skin, but instead spilled a bit of flour on the counter. "You can't do that Rocky." I scolded him gently, dusting the flour off the edge and into the palm of my hand. I turned around in his hold, before lifting my flour filled hand up and gently smacking the taller boy with it. In his shock, he let me go and I ran to the living room, laughing at the sigh of his flour covered cheek. I was in the middle of a laughing fit when I felt a powdery substance flowing down my body. My eyes widened and I looked up at him with betrayal written across my face, as he sauntered away to throw away the now empty flour bag. I dusted my face off, managing to get the majority of the substance away from my eyes, before announcing defeat. 

"I'll get you another bag, don't worry. My wallet's on the end table, so we can run to the market." He called from the kitchen as I walked into the bedroom to change. I pulled my shorts off first, replacing them with a clean pair, before tugging my shirt off. I heard the door open, before Rocky gasped and shut it quickly. I simply ignored it, dusting the remaining powder off before walking into the bathroom to wash the flour off my face. I saw that it was in my hair as well, so I rinsed it out in the sink. After drying my face and hair with a towel, I pulled on a new shirt before walking out into the living room. Rocky was sitting on the couch, trying to occupy himself with the tv, with a bright blush adorning his cheeks. 

I rolled my eyes slightly, before opening my mouth to tease him. "Don't tell me you're embarrassed, especially not when you're the one who wanted to cuddle earlier." His blush brightened at my words, and I was unable to stop the grin from spreading across my lips. I took my seat next to him, and grabbed the remote from his hands, throwing it onto the cushion behind me as I caught his gaze. There was still a powdery hand print on his cheek, which I gently wiped off. However, I didn't pull my hand from his face, instead letting it linger as we locked eyes. Our eye contact was broken when his eyes flickered to my lips and back, before he began to lean in. My eyes were still wide open when our lips met, but his fluttered closed quickly, and mine followed suit. The feeling of his lips on mine felt like nothing short of heaven, especially when his hands were on my hips and pulling me to him. As I readjusted myself on his lap, one of my hands took its place against his chest and the other traveled up to tangle my fingers in his hair. One of his hands moved farther back, reaching around to grope my ass and causing me to rock my hips into his with a breathy moan that he swallowed up. When I finally found the sense to pull away, we were both breathing heavily and I couldn't force myself out of his hold. 

When our breathing calmed down, his hands were still on my hips and I was still leaning against him. "You know we can't do this. I'll get fired, and you'll be suspended." I murmured against his shoulder, listening to his resigned sigh. 

"I know, but...I like you, and I want to give it a try. I'll wait until I graduate if I have to." He replied strongly, and when I pulled away, I saw the determination in his eyes. I let out a breathy laugh, before pulling one of his hands away from my hips and intertwining our fingers. 

He looked up at me in surprise, before I said, "I guess we can try after you graduate. But until then, you'll have to keep your hands off and don't tell anyone that this happened." He promised me that he would, before I dragged him to his feet. "Now, let's go get some flour. I want pancakes." I chirped, smiling so big that my eyes closed and he laughed. 

As we left my apartment with my keys in hand, as well as both of our phones and his wallet, I thought about the possibility of a future with the young man by my side.


	8. Dino (Seventeen)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm gonna be like, on and off of hiatus for the next few months (at least until June), but for now, enjoy this like fluffy, kinda angsty, just a touch smutty (idk if giving/receiving hickeys counts as smutty tho?) thing that I've been working on when I should be doing school lmao also, this one is kinda sorta based on something I went through, but I changed a lot of it and idk how I feel abt this one, honestly. But I hope y'all like it.  
> \--  
> Au - You two are a rare pair - for you, the world is black and white until you touch him, and as long as you're in contact, the world is full of color. He, however, feels your emotions, but doesn't know that he's actually feeling your emotions.  
> Genre - Fluff

It had been three years since I touched him, streaks of color painting the world that had been black and white as long as I had been living. Three years since I broke down while shaking his hand, struck by the deep brown in his eyes and the bright blue of his shirt. Three years since I saw color for the first time, holding the hand of the boy who would soon become my best friend.

It had been three months since the day I finally came clean to myself about my feelings for the boy. Three months since I finally faced the music, accepting that my best friend was my soulmate, romantically and platonically, and I loved him with all my heart. Three months since I decided that I couldn't tell him, as I watched him swoon over a girl in his grade.

It had been three minutes since my mother uttered the words that would change my life, changing any and all plans that I had of staying in my hometown. Three minutes since she told me that she was planning on leaving my father, taking her meager savings to live off of. Three minutes since I told her that I would go with her, because I couldn't live without her. Three minutes since my heart broke as I realized that I would be leaving my best friend, but also three minutes since I felt free. Emotions filled my chest - relief, sadness and anger. Relief that we would be in a better place. Sadness because this city was all I knew, having lived here all my life. Angry at my father, for making this choice so easy for her to make.

It had been less than a minute since she walked away, back into the house that we had lived in since I was a baby, where my older brother was waiting to bombard her with questions. Less than a minute since I turned away from the house, walking down the driveway and breaking into a sprint when I hit the road running in front of our house. I could feel the tears running down my cheeks, a broken sob making it's way from my mouth as I slowed down, and felt my body giving out as I stumbled to the ground. My body was wracked with sobs as I let my emotions overtake me, letting them spill out before I realized where I was. After a moment of catching my breath, I stood up straight, standing still as a wave of dizziness hit before continuing my walk to the only place where I truly felt at home, in the arms of my best friend, a short boy by the name of Lee Chan. My phone vibrated in my pocket as I walked, but I ignored it. Knowing my luck, it would be my brother or mother, wanting to know where I was and I couldn't handle that at the moment.

Moments later, I was standing on the first step to the porch in front of his house. My legs trembled as I made my way to the front door, my hand raised to knock before the door swung open and I was engulfed in a hug. My eyes closed, relaxing in his arms. The subtle scent of cologne and the musky smell of my best friend was all I could smell, he was all I could feel and his breathing was all I could hear, and when I opened my eyes, his sparkling brown eyes and soft pink lips, and the dull blue sweater swamping his small frame were all I saw, in contrast to the black and white painted world that I was so used to when I was away from him. His arms wrapped around my waist, pulling my body closer to his, and resting his chin on my shoulder.

I could feel his jaw moving as he talked, pressing gently into the soft skin of my shoulder through my shirt. "Your mom called and told me what happened, and told me to keep an eye out for you. I tried to text you, but you didn't reply and I got worried..." He trailed off, the worry evident in his voice. I felt the tears welling in my eyes at his words, before running my hands over his back to soothe him.

"It's okay, Channie." I mumbled back, before pulling away. His mom came trotting down the stairs, calling out to ask who it was before she caught sight of me. I greeted her with a simple "hello, ajumma", and wiped the tears from my face. Chan pulled away to look at his mom, before telling her that we were going to his room to hang out. She nodded, and said that she would bring snacks up to us. We thanked her, before making our way up the stairs, my fingers intertwined with his as I took in the colors of the house that I had seen so many times before. He led me to his room, and I finally broke away from him to lay on the bed, watching the once bright bedding turn to a dull, patterned gray once more. I sprawled out over his bed, dragging one of the pillows down to where I was laying and buried my face in it. Maybe if I went to sleep, this would all turn out to be a dream and I would wake up in my own bed, with both of my parents happy to be married and my mother not wanting to leave my father. I felt Chan lay down next to me, and opened my eyes to see that he had dragged a pillow right next to mine, and he was laying on his side to watch me. I rolled over onto my side, tucking one arm underneath the pillow and reaching out to grab his free hand that was laying on the bed in between us, the other having been tucked under his head as well. I watched the color flood back into his face, starting at his hairline and working it's way down.

I ran my thumb over the back of his hand, before he squeezed my hand back. "Do you want to talk about it? Or something else?" He asked, watching as I shook my head in response to his first question. A small sigh escaped his lips, before he softly smiled at me, having decided what he wanted to say. "I think I can feel my soulmates emotions." Before I could open my mouth to reply, he added, "I think they were sad today, because I was finishing that project for English, and all of the sudden, I felt really sad and like my whole world was falling apart." The words coming out of his mouth summed up my day so far, and I felt my heart beat a little bit faster. I, of course, knew that he was my soulmate, but he had been able to see color when we met, awkwardly telling me that I had such a unique eye color before shaking my hand and introducing himself. He, on the other hand, didn't know that we were destined to be, because of that fact. He didn't know that I saw color for the first time when we first met, the whole experience overwhelming as I saw the colors blooming in front of my eyes. He still had no idea of the love that I held in my heart for him.

I tried to force a small smile, which I knew came out sad as I tried my hardest to cover up the thoughts running through my head. "That's great, Channie. Your soulmate sure is a lucky person." I said quietly, before shutting my eyes again. I felt Chan move closer, before his arm wrapped around my waist and pulled me towards him. I scooted closer until we were pressed against one another, and my head was tucked under his chin. While skinship was fairly common between me and Chan, it never went as far as cuddling like this. The closest we'd ever been to cuddling was the night that I wanted to watch a horror movie, and he was leaning on my side with his arms wrapped around me so that he wouldn't be as scared when the jumpscares happened.

"(Y/N)?" He murmured, to which I replied with a soft hum. There was a deafening silence between us for a moment, before he finally spoke again. "I think you're my soulmate." My heart started thumping faster, while I tried to decide if I should tell him or not.

"Chan?" I answered, copying him. I could feel him laugh, before he hummed in reply. "I know you're my soulmate." I felt a weight (metaphorically) lift off of my shoulders as I finally told him the truth. He went to pull back, but I threw my arm over his waist to keep him in place, before he made me repeat what I'd just said. "I've known since the day we met." I added, my words almost inaudible with my face pressed to his chest. I knew he was shocked, I heard his heart beating faster, but I felt a wave of uncertainty pass overwhelm me. 'What if he's disappointed that I'm his soulmate?' was the only thing that I could think about, letting the deafening silence take its hold before I pulled out of his loose grip. "Maybe I should just go home." I mumbled quietly, not looking back at him as I got up form the bed.

Before I had taken two steps away from him, he grabbed my wrist and yanked me back, sending me stumbling into his arms again. I came face to face with Chan, his cheeks burning a bright pink as he stared at me with wide eyes. "I never said you had to leave...and I never said that I didn't want you to be my soulmate." He let out a small laugh, before adding, "I was kinda hoping you were my soulmate. I'm just...scared." His voice slowly got quieter, until the last word was just a whisper. A moment after, he let go of my wrist and settled his hands on my hips, pulling me closer until our faces were inches apart. "I don't want to ruin our friendship, but I really do like you, and I've liked you for a long time." He murmured, leaning in to brush his lips against mine, giving me the choice to meet him halfway or back away, silently asking the question that he couldn't bear to voice. I leaned against him, pressing my lips to his and kissing him slowly. It was pretty obvious that he was nervous, the way he shyly followed my lead, and the way that he let me have total control. I found myself draping my arms over his shoulders, before one of my hands moved up the back of his neck and tangled my fingers into his hair. After a moment, he got more comfortable and I took his bottom lip between my teeth and gently tugged, eliciting a whimper from the boy, before I let go. He kissed back harder, firmer, and with more of a purpose, and I finally pulled away to catch my breath. Sure, I had been breathing through my nose (because who holds their breath while kissing?), but the sudden change in pace had shocked me, taking my breath away. His kisses didn't stop, however, softly trailing kisses across my jawline and down my neck, stopping suddenly when he heard a soft moan leave my lips. Concerned, he looked up at me before I reassured him that I was okay and he could keep going. A small smile played on his lips as he ducked down to return to his previous task.

Soon enough, he found my sweet spot and sucked a deep purple mark into my skin, listening to the moans that I let out at the feeling. I stared at him as he pulled away, looking at the mark that he left on my neck. I shot him a look, and he answered the unspoken question. "First off, the other guys were talking about hickeys, and I wanted to try it. " He replied with a shrug, admiring his handiwork. "Second, I want people to know you're mine. Well, they won't know that you're _mine_ but they'll know you're spoken for..." It seemed like he lost his train of thought, as he trailed off. I took advantage of his silence, dipping down to press my lips to his jaw, leaving a trail of kisses and kitten licks as I moved down his throat. A low groan escaped his mouth as he tilted his head to make it easier for me to access the unmarked skin. I tugged the neckline of his sweater out of the way so that I could suck a hickey into the skin just under his collarbone, where it would be hidden under his shirt. When I was done, I leaned back to admire my work, before he pulled me into his lap and laid back down on the bed, pulling me with him. I scooted until I was laying next to him, curled up into his side with my head resting on his chest, his arm wrapped around my shoulders. Absentmindedly, he traced shapes into the exposed skin where the sleeves of my t-shirt ended. "We'll talk about everything later, okay?" He murmured gently, getting a soft hum in reply as I got comfortable, my leg resting on top of his as I scooted closer. 

I found myself drifting off in his arms, his steady breathing lulling me to sleep. Before I had completely fallen asleep, the door cracked open and Chan's mom began talking, before he hushed her. She fell silent as she took in the scene before her, opting to set the snacks down on the desk instead of bringing them to us. The door creaked closed, before Chan leaned over to press a kiss to my forehead, just as I was falling asleep.

The brown eyed boy watched his soulmate fall asleep in his arms, wondering how he had gotten so lucky before drifting off to sleep as well, the two of the unconsciously getting closer until they were a tangled mess of limbs.

That's how his younger brother found them hours later, deciding that a picture of that would make great blackmail, and not knowing that Chan would want a copy of it later, to hang up on his wall with the rest of the pictures of his family and friends. 


	9. Woozi (Seventeen)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It literally took me so long to finish this, omg. (mostly bc I'm working on three different au's plus school lmao) But I'm pretty happy with it, and I hope y'all like it. This is also less of a soulmate thing, I guess? But I really liked the au, and wanted to write it, so yeah. (also idk how ooc woozi is? and I said jihoon a l o t in this? so be warned?)  
> \--  
> Au - Each person has tally marks for every person they fall in love with.  
> Genre - literally 5800+ words of fluff. literal, pure, fluff.

The boy passed by people he used to know, hoodie drawn over his head and eyes glued to the ground. The group seemed to snicker in unison, before the leader reached out and snagged the boy's elbow, thick fingers wrapping around his slender arm and yanking the boy to the group. The man wrenched his hoodie sleeve up to expose the scarred skin to the others, to the public. Three black scars stared back at their prying eyes, running over pale skin that was previously unmarked. The boy stared down at his arm as well, examining the one-inch marks running down his wrist, beginning at his palm. Memories struck him like a tidal wave, his eyes closing in pain as he remembered every little detail of the people he loved. His first love, as a child in middle school. The person who became his best friend in high school turned into a lover. His sweetheart from his first year of college, the one he swore he'd marry someday. The three people that he loved with every fiber of his being, and the three people who loved him equally as much, if not more.

The boy finally looked up, dim eyes meeting the other man's before he was flung back by strong hands and the sounds of curses met his ears. A hissed threat was issued as he stumbled, finally regaining his balance enough to turn on his heel and walk the other way to escape. The boy kept his eyes trained on the ground, and none of the group noticed the figure hidden away in the shade of a tree, eyes following the boy as he trekked across campus to his last class of the day. A bright red tally mark seemed to glow against the figures skin, the edge peeking out from behind a thick, leather bracelet. The boy had no idea of the feelings being harbored for him, his skin free of the thick, red or black mark on his wrist. 

The boy, a musical prodigy by the name of Lee Jihoon, a person who had given up on the very thought of love since the people he loved the most had met an unfortunate accident that seemed to be fate's way of saying that he is not worth loving.  
\--  
A cool breeze caressed my skin, the shadow of the tree flickering over my body as I sat cross-legged on the ground with study materials spread out in front of me, and a notebook settled in my lap. The numbers messily scrawled on the page seemed to dance in front of my eyes, a clear sign that it was time to stop and take a break. I packed all of my supplies away, pulling my phone from my pocket to check the time as I stood up. "I have enough time to grab a coffee before class." I murmured, stowing my phone away before making my way out of the shadows. However, I stopped in my tracks and stepped back into the shade at the sight before me - a large group of people surrounded a slender figure, hoodie pulled up over their head. With a start, I realized that it was Jihoon, the reason for the mark on my wrist. The leader of the group grabbed him, and that's the only thing that I could see. Jihoon's back was to me, and his head was down, normally bright hair covered by his hood. I watched silently as the group moved in on the small boy, examining his wrist. When his head lifted up, the leader shoved him back, almost causing Jihoon to fall. The mark on my wrist burned, and I started to move forward before realizing that I shouldn't interfere and shrinking back into the shadows. The leader's mouth was moving, and I assumed he was spitting curse words at the shorter male, before Jihoon made a break for it, going in the opposite direction. I watched his back gradually get smaller, before finally stepping out from the shade of the trees and walking in the same direction he went in.

I checked my phone again while slinging my backpack over one shoulder, seeing that I had just enough time to get to class if I walked fast and didn't stop. I nearly jogged across campus, barely sliding into the classroom and into my seat before the professor walked into the room, shutting the door as they came in. My backpack quietly landed by my feet as I dropped it, which led to a soft thud resounding around the room in the silence. The professor looked at me for a split second, before turning his gaze to the boy behind me, who was whispering to his friend. I pulled a notebook and pencil from my bag, opening it to a random page and laying my pencil across it.

My eyes scanned the room, finally falling onto a slender figure sitting at the front of the class and closest to the wall, his upper half resting on the wall next to him. Of course, this class was the only way that I knew Lee Jihoon. We were, more often than not, the first pair to be called out when it was time for a project (which was fairly often), which led to countless hours being spent together. Oftentimes, we would just meet up at my apartment that was just off campus and work there, listening to music and talking only when needed; although, Jihoon would stay for dinner sometimes, talking as I cooked and while we ate, before leaving to go home and work on his music. I felt at ease around him, and he seemed fairly comfortable around me as well, but it still felt like there was a wall in between us that we were both too afraid to break down. 

Although this was a mandatory class that taught us about relationships, marriage and raising a family, I never really paid any attention during lectures but always managed to do good on tests. As the professor started the lecture, I found myself doodling on a blank page in my notebook, mind completely blank as I thought about everything that had happened today. I didn't hear the professor explaining our last project but finally tuned back in when I heard that half of the class would be picking their partners, since there was an even amount of people in the room. A teachers aide walked around the room, passing small objects to certain people - Jihoon being one of them. Anxiety riddled my head as I silently went through all the things that could happen, as the aide passed by me and gave the person next to me one of the objects. The person curled their fingers around it, before I had a chance to see what it was. Whatever it turned out to be, I was sure that the people who had one would be giving it to their partner. Jihoon was the only person that I knew in this class, and I was worried that he would choose somebody else to work with. The mark on my wrist twinged at the thought, and I absentmindedly slid a finger under my bracelet to try and ease the pain. I was so caught up in my thoughts that I didn't notice the slender figure standing in front of me, until there was a tap on my shoulder and I jumped slightly. My nerves calmed down when I saw that it was just Jihoon, cheeks flushed as he stood in front of me, his hand slipping back into the pocket on his hoodie. 

"Do you want to be my partner?" He asked simply, staring down at his feet for a moment before looking up to meet my eyes. I nodded, giving him a small smile in return. He smiled back, a gummy smile that reminded me slightly of a young child. "We can probably walk to your apartment together, instead of meeting up later. If you want, that is." He added the last part almost as an afterthought, before I nodded again. 

"That's fine, but you'll have to explain the project to me on the way." I let out a small laugh, closing my notebook before shoving it into my bag along with my pencil as the teacher said that we could leave. I got out of my seat, following Jihoon as he led the way through the door. A large rush of students from the top floor made my anxiety skyrocket as I was pushed and shoved in the tightly packed hallway. My hand shot out and grabbed a hold of Jihoon's sleeve, and I silently begged him not to leave me as he turned around. Nodding in understanding, he gently grabbed my hand to pull me behind him through the crowded hall. When we finally made it out, pushing through the glass doors into the sunlight, I took a deep breath and tried to steady my racing heart. The end of the semester was always horrible for me, because they gathered all of the students in a specific major and split them up based on their year, and then packed them into the lecture halls for the final exam of the semester. Then, when the exam was over, they released them all at the same time and essentially flooded the hallway with students. This was a panic attack waiting to happen for a person with social anxiety, which was the exact thing that I had been blessed with (please note the sarcasm). 

As we walked, I noticed that he had yet to let go of my hand. "Basically, we're going to be married and parents for a week. The professor said that we'll get our fake babies in the next class, and return them a week after." He explained shortly, before digging into his pockets to find something. When he found it, he pulled it from his pocket to show me. Two 'wedding rings' were held in between his fingers, one with a small stone on it and the other being a plain band. Both had small slits cut in them, making them adjustable. "I hope you don't mind...the professor also said that we could live together if we wanted, but that was all up to us. He just wants us to see what it's like to be married and all that..." He added, trailing off. 

I smiled slightly, before replying. "I don't mind, but it's our last project together, so we may as well go all out." I laughed as a sudden thought came into my head, before voicing it out loud. "Especially because I don't want to take care of a baby by myself," I added jokingly, prompting a small chuckle from Jihoon. 

"Then it's settled. We'll live together for a week, and be 'married'," He added air quotes around the word, before continuing. "And have a baby." I laughed as he wrinkled his nose at the thought, before we were finally off campus and crossing the street. As we approached my apartment complex, Jihoon finally seemed to realize that he was holding my hand and let go, before we climbed the stairs and I dug around in my bag to find my keys. After managing to find them, I unlocked the door and let him go inside first so I could lock the door. He walked through the entryway, immediately disappearing into the living room to set his things down. I followed after him, tossing my bag into the armchair in the corner, before heading to the kitchen.

As I opened the fridge, I grabbed a bottle of water for each of us, closing the fridge door with my foot as I turned around to go back to the living room. I called his name, catching his attention before tossing one of the bottles his way. He caught it easily, long fingers wrapped around the lid as he twisted it off and took a drink. I curled up in the armchair, after sliding my backpack onto the floor, while Jihoon was sitting cross-legged in front of the couch, his laptop sitting on the coffee table and was in the process of turning on. I twisted the top off of my water bottle as he logged into his computer, taking a long drink before replacing the cap and setting the bottle on the table. "I can probably stop by the dorm on the way home, and get some clothes and stuff." Jihoon finally broke the silence that had fallen over us, before adding, "Unless you want to come with me?". I thought about it for a second. It would give me an opportunity to meet his roommates, and it would make this 'marriage' feel more real. Finally, I nodded and he smiled before pulling his phone out of his hoodie pocket. I watched as he swiped, before tapping the screen twice and the dial tone filled the room. I got up and laid on the couch behind him, seeing the name "Hoshi" printed across the screen. The person picked up, and a group of loud voices filtered through the speakers, most of them asking where he was. Quickly, he explained about the project, before saying that we would be stopping by the dorm tomorrow to pick up some of his clothes. Halfway through the call, more people had evidently entered the room and took the phone, teasing Jihoon about his 'wife'. After a short conversation, he hung up and looked as though he wanted to wring someone's neck. 

I simply stared at him, wondering if he had to deal with that amount of chaos all day or if it was scheduled. "That was Soonyoung, Junhui, and Wonwoo at first, but I'm pretty sure Seungkwan and Vernon were there and stole the phone." He sighed, rubbing his temples gently with his index fingers. I laughed slightly, asking if this was normal for them. He nodded in response. "Sadly, yes. Hoshi - Soonyoung is my roommate, but Jun and Wonwoo live in the dorm next to us and are at our place more often than their own, so we just call them our roommates too." He explained, before turning around to face me and continue talking. "Seungkwan and Vernon are a couple years younger than the four of us, but they hang out at our dorm too because they're friends with Hoshi. He's also friends with some other guys who've already graduated, and them some sophomores, I think." He added, resting his forehead on the edge of the couch. I gently tousled his hair with my hand, causing him to raise his head and stared at me with a raised brow. I shrugged. 

"Sorry, it's a habit." I muttered in response to his look, and it was the truth. I had grown up with a brother who was only a year older than me, but we were incredibly close. He had even gone to the same college that I'm going to, and graduated last school year. Jihoon nodded in response, before seeming to realize something. He stood up suddenly, offering his hand to help me get up, and digging in his pocket for a second, pulling out the fake rings. I took the wedding band from him and watched as he got down on one knee, cheekily grinning at me. I couldn't help but laugh, before accepting his 'proposal'. He slid the ring onto my left ring finger, where it fit perfectly, offering me his hand to do the same. The mark on my wrist burned as I went to slide the ring onto his finger, causing me to hiss in pain and clutch my wrist. In the haze caused by my pain, I didn't notice that Jihoon was holding his wrist tenderly, staring down at it in disbelief. When my head cleared, I looked from my wrist to Jihoon in shock. The red color on my wrist had burned away, turning into a shocking black. Finally, he showed me his wrist. Three scarred marks sat next to a newly made black mark. My heart thumped faster in my chest as I silently stared at the boy, unable to believe that this was actually real. 

After a few moments of silence, he finally spoke up. "Well, I guess that means that I made the right choice." I just stared at him blankly for a second, before he broke out into a smile and made me smile as well. I threw my arms around his neck, grinning uncontrollably. His arms wrapped gently around my waist, before I quickly pulled away. "I completely forgot." I said suddenly, grabbing his hand to slide the ring onto his finger with a cheesy grin, until my stomach growled loudly in between us. "Why don't we order takeout of something, and make tonight movie night?" I suggested sheepishly, darting into the kitchen to find the menus that I had stored...somewhere. Jihoon joined me moments later, joining in on the search for the elusive menus, until he finally found them in the one cabinet that I hadn't checked. After sorting through them, he handed me two different choices and told me to pick between them. I pulled my phone out of my pocket and dialed the number for the place that I wanted, and ordered food (with Jihoon's help, of course). After hanging up, we went back into the living room and he curled up in the armchair, leaving me to spread out on the couch. He snatched the remote off of the table, turning on the tv and beginning the search for a good movie. 

Finally, he settled on an old movie that I had never watched, nevertheless knew the name of. About halfway through, I got up from the couch and went into my room, returning with a long body pillow, which I promptly cuddled up to on the couch. Jihoon stared at me with a raised brow, and I just shrugged in reply, focusing on the movie playing. A few minutes later, the doorbell rang and I jumped up, throwing the pillow nearly across the room in my scramble to get my wallet. I finally found it in the front pocket of my backpack, jogging to the door with Jihoon in tow. He took the food to the living room, while I paid the delivery man, who was very obviously looking me up and down. My ring caught the light as I handed him the money, using my left hand since my wallet was clutched in my right. The person looked at my ring, and seemed to deflate, averting his eyes quickly before taking the money and leaving as soon as he could. I closed and locked the door, before making my way to the living room, where Jihoon was pulled different foods from the bag; the aroma filling the room made my stomach growl, and I nearly threw myself down next to him to eat. At the first bite, I made a loud noise of content, before we began eating in earnest. I cleaned up after the food was gone, and laid back down on the couch to watch another movie. Jihoon was soon complaining that the armchair was uncomfortable, and I offered to share the couch, an offer that he quickly took. I pushed my pillow onto the floor, and instead opted to rest my head in his lap, with one of my hands underneath his thigh, and the other curled up by my chest. One of his hands was resting on my waist, drawing absentminded shapes into my shirt. 

We watched movie after movie - actually, that's a lie. He watched movie after movie, because I fell asleep in his lap during the second one.  
\--  
The next morning, I woke up wrapped in warmth. A pair of arms was wound tightly around my waist, and a face was buried in my shoulder. Sluggishly, I realized that my arms were wrapped around him as well, and one of my legs was hooked over his knees. However, I was too tired to care and simply drifted off to sleep once more, with the scent of him surrounding me.  
\--  
When I woke up the next time, I was alone on the couch, with a small blanket covering me. There was noise coming from the kitchen, and I got up to see what it was, after folding the blanket up neatly and laying it on the couch. I softly padded into the kitchen, seeing Jihoon bustling around making breakfast. The coffee pot was full, and he had a mug of coffee sitting on the island. He turned around to grab something and caught sight of me standing in the doorway. "Good morning, sleeping beauty." He joked lightly, before pulling another mug out of the cabinet and pouring the dark coffee into it. "I wasn't sure how you liked your coffee, so I wanted to wait until you got up." He added, passing me the hot mug. I set it down on the counter and went to pull the creamer out of the fridge, and dug around in a cabinet for a packet of sugar. I fixed my coffee the way that I liked it, before taking a sip and sighing in content. Soon after, Jihoon was plating up food. "I think class starts soon, but I wanted to take this 'husband role' seriously." He explained as he set a steaming hot plate of food in front of me, which I promptly started eating. I honestly wasn't surprised to find out that he wasn't that bad of a cook, considering that he told me he basically lived with three other guys. 

As soon as we were done eating, I went to take a quick shower and get ready, and then pack up my bag as Jihoon showered and got ready as well, coming out of the bathroom with his hair still damp. I slung my backpack over my shoulder, before trying to track down my phone. "Jihoon, do you know where my phone is?" I called to the boy in the living room, while I was in the kitchen. He called back a yes, coming into the kitchen with his bag slung over his shoulder and my phone in hand. He handed it to me, before we made our way out of the door and down the street, to the campus. We split up, heading in opposite directions to our first classes, with promises to meet for lunch and then to head home together. 

Time seemed to fly by, and I was already done with my two lectures for the day and it was finally time for lunch. I headed to the canteen, got my food, and found an empty table for us to sit at. I pulled out my phone, checking my texts to see one from my brother. He said that he would be visiting some friends on campus, and would stop by my apartment afterward to see me. I started grinning uncontrollably, replying that I couldn't wait to see him with a few hearts at the end. Just as I sent it, there was a sudden, warm weight on my back, pushing me forward. Arms wrapped around my shoulders, and the soft scent that I could only describe as Jihoon filled my nose. "Hey, Jihoon-ie." I stretched out the last syllable, laughing when he groaned at my attempt at being cute, as I tossed my phone onto the table. 

He threw his bag down next to mine, before taking the seat across from me. "I guess we'll eat, and then head to the dorm. Hoshi said that one of his older friends was going to be there, which means that you're probably going to be meeting a lot of people later." He sighed, before picking up my fork that I had abandoned to text my brother back and stealing some of my food. I swatted his hand away, before starting eating once again. He laughed at me, before getting up to get his own food. We ate in silence, until my phone vibrated. It was too far for me to reach, so I told Jihoon to grab it and see what it was. "It's from Joshie, and it's just a bunch of hearts." He relayed, before he put the phone back down and looked at me, confused. "Who's Joshie?".

The question hung in the air for a second, and I could see the gears turning in his head as he tried to work out who it was. "It's my brother, you'll get to meet him later." I smiled brightly, adding that he would be stopping by my apartment later. Jihoon nodded in understanding, the worry melting off his face. We finished eating and gathered up our trash to throw away. I took our trays, while Jihoon grabbed both of our bags, and followed me to the trash can, and then out of the canteen. "Lead the way, captain." I joked, taking my backpack from him and slinging it over my shoulder. He rolled his eyes, before leading me in the general direction of the dorm. We walked side by side, our hands bumping occasionally until he finally just grabbed my hand, intertwining our fingers. A light blush dusted my cheeks, and I hoped he didn't notice. 

Finally, we made it to the door of his dorm. "Be warned, it's really messy and loud." He said, before knocking on the door. Loud footsteps announced that someone was coming to answer the door, and I wondered how many noise complaints they had. I didn't have time to ponder it for very long, before the door swung open and a tall figure stood behind it. Although I was a tiny bit taller than Jihoon, this person dwarfed the two of us. Jihoon leaned close to me, and whispered in my ear, "That's Wonwoo." I nodded in understanding, before the giant - er, Wonwoo - let us in. The dorm was loud, filled with voices and music playing in the background. Piles of bags were just inside the door, along with countless pairs of shoes. I stepped over it all, still clutching Jihoon's hand in mine. Jihoon set his bag down in the entryway and took mine from me to set it next to his. I took a deep breath to calm my slowly rising anxiety, before he finally moved in front of me to lead the way. There were shouts of hello as he entered the living room, and then it all went quiet as I walked in behind him. Wonwoo squeezed past the two of us and sat down next to an equally as tall male. There were nine different pairs of eyes on me, and I didn't recognize a single one of them. Jihoon squeezed my hand lightly, making me look at him. He smiled slightly, before introducing all the boys. "Those two over there on the armchair are Vernon and Seungkwan." Each boy waved as he said their name, and I assumed that they were the younger boys he was talking about. "That's Hoshi, Jun, and his friend Minghao on the couch, and in front of them is Seokmin and Chan." After a minute, I realized that I did know somebody else in the room. Minghao and I seemed to realize it at the same time, him jumping up and pointing at me while I just pointed at him.

"I know him!" I chimed in, almost excitedly. "We had a project together last year, and he somehow charmed the professor into giving us a better grade than we actually deserved." This prompted laughs from some of the boys, including Minghao himself who had sat back down again, with a grin still on his lips. Jihoon chuckled, before introducing Mingyu and Wonwoo, who were cuddled up on the other armchair. After introductions, they invited me to sit down on the floor, since there weren't any other seats. I sat crossed legged in front of the table, facing the couch and Jihoon sat next to me. We spent a few minutes talking, and I was slowly becoming comfortable being in a room with so many people. I barely noticed the knock at the door, until Wonwoo untangled himself to go see who it was. I was too busy talking to Chan, who was the only high school student here, to realize who had walked in the door until a familiar voice said my name. I was peeved, to say the least, until I finally realized who it was. "Joshie~!" I squealed, jumping up and hugging him tightly.

"(Y/N)~!" He imitated my voice, laughing as he hugged me back. There was a slightly confused silence, the boys all watching us as we embraced. We finally separated, and he sat down next to me when I rejoined Jihoon on the floor. 

Jihoon, honestly, looked stunned. "I would introduce you two, but obviously, you know each other." He said, before introducing the other two men who had walked in with Josh, Seungcheol, and Jeonghan. The two were holding hands, and slightly more feminine looking of the two waved their joined hands in greeting. I waved back, before rejoining the conversation that had started again. 

"So, (Y/N), I didn't know that you knew these fools." Josh joked from next to me, earning a soft kick from Seungkwan, who was now buried under Vernon. 

I laughed in reply, before shaking my head. "I actually just met them. Me and Jihoon are married for the week, and he's staying at my place until the week is over, so we needed to pick up clothes for him." I explained quickly, watching as Josh narrowed his eyes at the slender male next to me. Jihoon stared blankly back, and I decided to ignore it. I knew that Josh was sweet, but he was very protective of me, because I was his younger sibling. He went through the speech like it was scripted, telling Jihoon that if he hurt me, that he was in trouble and all that jazz. I tuned it out, instead opting to continue my conversation with Chan. 

After hours, Jihoon checked the time and realized that it was getting dark out. "We should probably get clothes and go, it's getting late." He said, nudging me. I nodded in reply, before we got up to head to his room. Catcalls and whistles followed us, along with a joking whoop from one of the boys. Jihoon and I both rolled our eyes in unison, before he opened one of the doors and let me go in first, closing it behind us. He dug out a bag from under the bed and told me to sit down while he packed. I sat down on the plush bed, looking around his room while I waited. Posters decorated the walls, and the desk was covered in sheets of paper, but other than that, the room was clean. It was a stark contrast to the room we had just left, but still looked lived in. When he was done packing, we left the room to say goodbye to everyone. Vernon and Seungkwan had disappeared, along with Jeonghan and Seungcheol. Mingyu and Wonwoo were still cuddled up on the armchair, Mingyu asleep with his head resting on Wonwoo's shoulder. Josh had taken the other armchair, laying in such a way that there was no room for anyone else. However, he got up when we walked out, offering to give us a ride home, which I gratefully accepted. After saying our goodbyes, the three of us walked out together, grabbing our bags as we went and loaded them into Josh's car. I climbed into the passenger seat, leaving Jihoon by himself in the back. After a short ride, Josh parked in my reserved spot and the three of us headed up to my apartment. 

After unlocking the door and throwing our bags down, Jihoon took his bag full of clothes to my room, dropping it just inside the door and off to the side. When he returned to the living room, Josh and I were settled on the couch and armchair, respectively. Jihoon chose to sit with Josh, and we spent the next hour or so talking, before Josh announced that he had to leave. He hugged me goodbye, promising to stop by again soon, and said goodbye to Jihoon as well. 

Just minutes after he left, I heard the distant sound of thunder. Confused, I checked my phone to see that it was, in fact, supposed to rain tonight. I was glad that we accepted the ride home, showing the forecast to Jihoon. The soft sound of rain hitting the roof filled the room soon enough, and I yawned. Although storms made me nervous, I was okay until there was really loud thunder. Jihoon turned the tv on, putting on a movie that I wasn't paying any attention to. After a little bit, there was a loud clap of thunder that made me jump, before he finally said that we should probably go to sleep. However, I didn't want to go to bed alone. "Jihoon..." I said quietly, my cheeks flushing a bright red. "Will you please sleep with me?" As soon as the words passed my lips, I realized how wrong it sounded. "Like, not have sex but sleep in the bed with me." I added quickly, listening to the silence for a second before he laughed. 

"Sure. It's not like we haven't slept together before, anyways." He joked, getting up from his spot on the couch and offering me his hand. I laughed lightly, grabbing his hand and getting off of the chair, following him to the bedroom. He left the light off and released my hand to climb into bed, under the covers. I followed suit, climbing in on the other side. We laid on our sides, facing each other as he took my hand in his again, rubbing soothing circles into my palm with his thumb. Another clap of thunder sounded, although it sounded a lot closer this time. I jumped, and Jihoon scooted closer, urging me to do the same. He wrapped his arms around my waist, pulling me flush against his body. My heart nearly beat out of my chest as he ran one of his hands soothingly up and down my back, before it started slowing down as I relaxed in his arms. By the time I was drifting off to sleep, he was humming a soft song, his hand resting on the small of my back, where my shirt had lifted to expose bare skin. The warmth of him and his voice soothed me into a dreamless sleep, not even waking up when he whispered the three words that I never thought I'd hear, before drifting off to sleep himself.


	10. Mingyu (Seventeen)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...so this happened. It was inspired by Gabbie Hanna's 'Out Loud' and also my desire to make myself suffer? Idk. This is also pretty short, it's only like, 1300+ words or something like that? (also I lowkey need somebody to proofread for me lmao bc I suck at rereading my stuff and actually catching mistakes) ALSO this starts out from like, third person pov but it's mainly focused on Mingyu's thoughts and stuff, so there's that too.   
>  -  
> Au - You get a photograph of your soulmate and vice versa (could be yearly, at a certain age, or a photo of when you first met, etc).   
> Genre - Angst

The first week was spent in silence, locked in a room with the curtains drawn and the covers a rumpled mess at the foot of the bed, but still he laid there. Still he laid in the spot where they had once laid together, bodies flush against once another and fingers intertwined between them. Still he laid there, the silence deafening as he mulled over all the things he had refused to say, the things that he was too scared to say. Mulling over the memories they had together, the sweet sound of their laughter mingling together over the noise of the TV, the memories of ice cream dates and picnics in the park. Even in the quiet, he could vividly hear the laughter that he loved as the person he loved smacked his shoulder for a corny joke he had told, or a cheesy pick up line that was thrown out in the open. Even in the dark, he could see the figure of the person he loved laying next to him, hair messy and face slightly swollen from sleep, eyes still tightly shut as though it would block out the world, and burying their face in his chest when it wasn't enough. Still, he laid there. 

It wasn't until the next week when he finally registered the gnawing hunger growing in his stomach, finally emerging from the dim room into the equally as dim hallway. The empty rooms of the apartment you two once shared are filled with a silence that he doesn't dare break, the memories of your laughter still filling every inch of the space. Silver light filters through the wall of windows behind the couch, illuminating the living room that was bathed in traces of you. A plush blanket laid over the arm of the couch, slightly worn with a hole on one of the corners that you swore you would sew up, but never had time to. A pair of shoes poked halfway out from under the coffee table, the heels scuffed and dirty from use. His heart throbbed, a sob threatening to wrench itself from his throat as he forced himself to move on, to find something that would dull the sensation in his stomach. As he moves into the kitchen, the wall of polaroids that had been hung up caught his eye, each one showing a different point in your relationship that had been documented and sent to him to prove that the two of you were meant to be. Shots of you smiling, him smiling, the two of you smiling together all flooded his vision. Pictures of you with icing streaked across your face, on your 22nd birthday. His lips pressed to your cheek in another shot, taken mere moments after the first, just a few seconds before you smeared icing across his face as well. Photos of the two of you dressed in costumes, on the beach, at the fair - all the memories that were now part of the past, memories that would only cause him heartbreak to think about. Anger and pain filled his body, and with a swipe of his hands, pictures were sent tumbling to the floor. He was breathing heavily as he slid to the floor, back resting on the wall behind him as he sobbed. 

It's been a month. A month of mourning, of trying to find his place in the world that he had been traversing with you by his side for as long as he could remember. His friends stopped by one day, all of them at once. They had planned a funeral for you, one that he couldn't bear to attend - because then this would be real, you would truly be gone from his life. So they buried you without him. The open rooms felt suffocating as they all sat silently, taking in the fact that there was an empty seat next to Mingyu, a seat that should have been filled by the one person that they all missed dearly, the person that they had laid to rest earlier that day. That night, the group found themselves at a loss for what to do. They knew he was hurting, but also knew that the only thing that could heal his broken heart was you. After an hour or so, he silently slipped away form the noise and retreated to the safety of his room. Wonwoo stayed with him that night, the only one who followed him to his room while the others stayed in the living room, watching as the taller mans' facade cracked and broke. He stayed up with him, soothing the taller man until he fell into a fitful sleep next to his best friend. 

Three months passed without you by his side, and he had finally ventured outside of the apartment for the first time. One of the three eldest of the group would stop by once a week, to drop off groceries, and make sure that he was still keeping it together. Oftentimes, Wonwoo would join them and stay with Mingyu after the others left, cooking a simple meal and coercing him into eating. He would always note the way the others face was thinning, eyes dull and underlined by dark bags. But today, Mingyu unlocked the door and walked outside, wallet and keys in hand. He was determined to start living for himself again, even though your presence still hung around him like a dark cloud. He was determined to continue living, the way you would have wanted him to. His first stop was the cemetery, just down the road from your - his apartment. He let the tears fall as he crouched in front of your grave, words falling from his lips like a prayer as he longed for you to be by his side once more, longing for your comforting warmth against his side and your hand in his. 

The months slowly turned into a year, a year in which he learned to live without you but still know that he was never truly without you. He still had a photo of you tucked in his wallet, a daily reminder of the love that you had shared and that he would never forget. He still wondered why he had never told you how much you meant to him, how much he treasured you and how much he loved you. He wondered why he let you leave that night, let you walk away without knowing what would happen. He wondered would you still be here if he had stopped you. He wondered about a lot of things, and never really found an answer.

A year turned into two, and then into three and you still remained his favorite memory. Your things slowly disappeared into storage, because he still couldn't stomach the thought of getting rid of them, getting rid of the only traces of you left in the world. He still visited the cemetery, at least once a week. He no longer cried as he crouched just feet above where you were buried, telling you about his day and ending with the same confession that he should have said while you were still with him, curled up into his side and whispering the words of love and adoration into his bare skin.   
\--  
You watched from the treeline, unbeknownst to him, watching as he dusted off his knees and left the cemetery, a single tear slipping down your cheek as you watched him move on. When he was out of sight, you walked away, and wondered if this was really worth it, losing the one you loved to escape from danger.


	11. Mingyu Pt. 2 (Seventeen)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Literally, I had an idea of where I wanted to take this, and I think this is pretty close? Thank you sm to TARDISpieandmore for inspiring me to do a part 2, because the last part was r e a l l y like, up for interpretation, but I think we both needed an explanation and some backstory in the form of a dream/nightmare lmao (even tho I'm the author who had no clue where she was going with pt. 1). I hope this was okay, and yeah. It's literally past midnight, so I'm either going to write more or go to sleep. We'll see which one actually happens. ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯ Also, there's no mention of the soulmate thing in this one, so there's that too.   
> -  
> Au - You get a photograph of your soulmate and vice versa (could be yearly, at a certain age, or a photo of when you first met, etc).  
> Genre - Angst and fluff (ig?)

The silk-like fabric wrapped tightly around my shoulders, the cool material icy against my burning skin as I woke from the nightmare plaguing my sleep. It was the same one that had been haunting my sleeping and waking moments for the past three years, since I had left him; the only difference was that the roles were reversed. It was him that left, his back to me as the tears streamed down both of our faces, the anger from our fight still lingering in our veins. It was me that was told that he had died in an accident, and it was me that broke down where I was standing. It was me that couldn't attend his closed casket funeral, because it would make it real, it would be real that he was dead. It was me that spent years mourning and moving on, but never knew that the person I loved was still alive. It was him, that ran away to protect the two of us from danger from a past I didn't know of.

In reality, it was different. It was me, that ran away when things go too tough. It was me, that ran into the street and was hit, ending up in the hospital. It was me, that begged the doctor's not to call him or any of our friends, it was me that begged for them to say that I had died, it was me that begged for somebody to help me fake my death. It was me, that wrecked his life and left him in pieces, but it truly was for the best. It was me, that left without saying a word, without telling him how much I loved him. It was me, leaving Kim Mingyu behind to protect him. It was me, that was doing my best to shield him from the past that I had never shared with him. 

I unwrapped the sheets from my body, letting the fabric fall off of my bare skin, before sliding off the edge of the bed and padding to the bathroom. After a few moments, I stepped into the shower and hot water was pelting my skin, washing the light layer of sweat off, and then soap after I scrubbed my body down. I finished washing up, drying off with a towel before making my way back into the bedroom and pulling clothes out from the small closet, slipping them over my naked body and sliding back under the covers. The clock on the nightstand showed that it was nearly four in the morning, but I still had a few hours before I actually had to get up for work. Slowly, the dream slipped from my mind as I drifted back off to sleep, only to have another dream (maybe a memory?) take it's place.   
-  
The red words at the top of the page stared back at me, a bill that wasn't paid on time - "OVERDUE" screaming in my head, and I briefly wondered if that was the same sound I would be hearing the next day. I buried my face in my hands as I thought about the people working for me. About the life that I had built for myself, from the ground up.

After spending countless months finding a place, I had finally opened a legal brothel in Nevada. However, I didn't want it to be a place filled with sex and drugs and alchohol, I wanted to make sure that it was a opportunity for a better life for people - I hired men and women off the street, and paid them a set allowance each week, while clients added to it with tips. Every one of the workers was screened for diseases, and treated if possible. When it actually came to working, it was all up to them. The workers chose if they wanted to engage in any sexual contact (but anyone under 21 was not allowed to choose, they weren't allowed to) and together, we all decided what options to offer. Clients were also screened as well, and a set of ground rules was set - clients were not allowed to enter the brothel when drunk or high, they were not allowed to touch the workers unless given consent, and they were not allowed to ask personal questions (such as real name and age, among others). Of course, these rules were broken countless times, which forced me to not allow certain clients back into the house, and made enemies for me. But, I wanted to make sure that this was a safe work space for them, so it was worth making enemies over.

I took care of the men and women as if they were family, and many of them felt like it. Our brothel was our home, and every one of them had their own bedroom and bathroom, which they were allowed to decorate (as long as it was approved beforehand). They also got to pick their own nicknames, which would be the names that they would be requested by. I also made sure that I talked to each one of them at the end of the day, making sure that the clients were behaving themselves and resolving any problems that came up.

Although, my careful monitoring allowed my 'children' (as I often referred to them as) to flourish - I paid for their education, as much as I could, and made sure they always had a warm bed to sleep in and warm food three times a day, and they were also kept as safe as I could keep them. We grew closer as a family, and kept the business running for over four years - that is, until one of my girls was arrested and I had to pay to bail her out. I spent all of my savings, and left only enough to pay them with, just to get her out of jail. When the news got out, clients slowly stopped coming and I was slowly growing my debt. It had also caused an uproar of rumors, that had people turning against me in a heartbeat. Soon enough, I was getting threats in the mail and that's how I got to where I am now. 

I was broken from my memories by a knock at the door. I got up to answer it, and the world went black just as I swung the door open.   
-  
I jolted upright, tears flooding down my face at the thought of the men and women that I had been forced to abandon. I buried my face in my hands, sobbing as I felt the weight of loss finally settling on my shoulders. I felt the loss of those girls, of the boys as well, and of Mingyu. The brothel was the reason I left him - the clients that I had been forced to ban had tracked me down once again, even when I moved overseas to a totally different country. Death threats followed me to my new home, and eventually they were stretched to include Mingyu. I couldn't stand risking his life, and our fight happened at a 'convenient' time - around the time when I needed to get out before something happened to him. I let my feelings overwhelm me, and ran out into the street in the pouring rain. I was hit by a speeding car, a drunk driver behind the wheel. I came out of it okay, with nothing more than bumps and bruises, and a broken bone in my arm that was fully healed a few months later. My 'death' was somehow spread to media outlets, and the threats stopped. I legally changed my name, adopting the foreign name of someone I had met back home, when I was young.

However, that didn't heal the hurt that was locked deep in my heart, the hurt that was burning like I swallowed acid, the hurt that would only be helped by him. The man that I had left three years ago, the man who believed I was dead, the man who had moved on. After glancing at the clock, and seeing that I only had an hour until my eight o'clock shift started, I did what any other sane person would do. I went to visit my own grave, silently hoping that I might catch a glimpse of Mingyu.

It was empty when I arrived, the cemetery devoid of life as far as I could see. I cleared the leaves off of the base of my tombstone, crouching down in front of it. I let out a bitter laugh as I thought of the last time I was here, three years prior, after watching the love of my life walk away. "I still love him. I wish I was still with him, but I'm a coward. Even after all these years, I can't muster up the courage to talk to him." I whispered to the quiet, continuing on as I spilled everything that was holed up inside my heart and my mind, feeling the weight slowly leaving my shoulders. Finally, I slumped forward onto my knees, silent tears streaming down my face. The sound of footsteps on gravel quickly shook me out of my reverie, and I turned to face the newcomer while wiping my eyes, coming face to face with the very person that I wished to be with. His jaw went slack, mouth dropping and eyes widening as he took in my face. My name left his lips, choked and full of emotion. I shook my head with a sad smile gracing my lips, before replying with the name that I had chosen. "(Y/N) is dead." I added, getting to my feet and brushing my knees of. 

"But you're (Y/N)..." He trailed off, staring at me in hopes of getting an explanation. I sighed, before saying that we should go home and talk about it. It was there, on the same couches that we had movie nights and breakfast dates on, that I spilled everything - about the brothel, about my girls and boys, about the threats, and how it led to my 'death'. I explained the new name, and where I had been for the past three years. I told him that I understood if he could never forgive me, since I could barely forgive myself. He interrupted me, arms wrapping tightly around my frame and drawing me close. His lips pressed to mine, and it wasn't long before I was responding. 

"It doesn't matter what you've done." He murmured as he pulled away, eyes brimming with tears. "All that matters is that you're here, back where you belong." I was soon pulled into his embrace, sighing against his warm skin as my fingers drew designs into the small of his back. "And all that matters is that you're safe. Even if it meant faking your death." He added quietly, lips gently pressing onto my forehead as we settled back into the plush cushions.


	12. Hoshi (Seventeen)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope everyone is shocked bc I posted twice today, bc I sure am lmao but I really wanted to write abt domestic Soonyoung doing adorable bf things and this happened? so yay me   
> -  
> Au - Telepathic link with your soulmate + your eyes change color when the other dyes their hair.   
> Genre - F L U F F

It was like a spa day at my apartment. The strong scent of essential oils filled the small space, flowing straight from the bathroom where the tub was filling up with hot water. A plastic cap was wrapped around my head, holding the heat in and letting the dye seep into my newly bleached hair, slowly turning it into a vivid shade of crimson. I checked my phone one last time as I walked down the hallway to the steam filled bathroom, shutting the door behind me. Soon enough, I had dug out a charcoal clay mask that Soonyoung bought from under the sink, squirting some of the gel like substance onto my hands before spreading it on my face. I rinsed the mask off of my hands, and dried them, immediately following this by turning music on, the slow song filtering through the room from my phone as I climbed into the tub, sinking into the hot water and letting a soft sigh escape my lips as the back of my thighs hit the bottom. I leaned forward to turn the faucet off, before leaning back and closing my eyes, letting myself relax. 

I was nearly drifting off to sleep as the mask hardened on my face, and my muscles relaxed in the warm water - until a voice exploded in my head. Not literally, but it was pretty close. "(Y/N) WHAT THE HELL." My beloved boyfriend of nearly a year and a half yelled through our mind link. My eyes shot open, sitting bolt upright in the tub and looking around, for a second believing that he was standing next to me. "I WAS IN A MEETING AND VERNON HAD THE DECENCY TO TELL ME THAT MY EYES ARE RED. CARE TO EXPLAIN?" I was laughing quietly to myself as he ended his rant, before replying.

"Well, you see, what happened was...I wanted to try something new. So I dyed my hair. Bright red." I thought back to him, shrugging even though I knew he couldn't see me. I could hear him sigh, which caused me to laugh again. I was the forgetful one in our relationship - I forgot birthdays, anniversary's, and that his eye color changes when I dye my hair, and vice versa (which we found out one day, after he dyed his hair a bright orange and my best friend pointed out that my eyes matched his hair). 

There was a pause, before he continued. "Well, our manager said that I needed to go home as soon as the meeting was over and find a solution for this - otherwise, it will cause a scandal." His words caused me to sober up quickly, since we weren't exactly public with our relationship. Sure, the fans knew that I had been his best friend basically since birth, and that we had lost contact when I went to study abroad, and that we met again when I came back to Korea; they didn't know, however, that we owned an apartment together, and were dating. The fans of his group, Seventeen, were very smart and would quickly make the connection that his eyes matched my hair. 

"All right, I'll help you figure something out when you get home. I need to take a shower and rinse the dye out, but I'll see you when you get here." I replied, leaning forward to pull the plug in the tub, and grabbing a towel as I climbed out. We exchanged 'I love you's' as I turned the water on in the shower, and slid in when it was warm. A familiar beat filled the room, just loud enough to be heard over the water running and I grinned, swaying my hips to the beat as I tilted my head back to remove the plastic cap from my head, before beginning to rinse the dye from my hair as I hummed along to Taeyang's 'Naked'. I ran my fingers through my hair in an attempt to remove more of the loose dye, before wringing my hair out and grabbing the conditioner, running a generous amount through my hair and letting it sit while I scrubbed my body with soap, struggling to reach my mid back. I nearly jumped out of my skin as warm, dry hands rested gently on my hips as I swayed, drawing me closer to them and letting me feel their bare skin against my back, before the scrubbie was taken from my hand and was scrubbing the places of my back that I couldn't reach, before it was tossed to the side. I turned around in the persons hold, coming face to face with Soonyoung, who had a mischievous grin painted on his lips. I laughed at him, standing up on my tiptoes to kiss him gently, my soapy skin pressing against his and leaving a mark where I had been as I pulled away. 

I returned to the warm spray of the water, rinsing the bubbles off of my body before turning around and tipping my hair back to rinse the conditioner out. Familiar fingers gently rubbed over my scalp, scrubbing the color from my skin while aiding the removal of the conditioner. Soonyoung chuckled as I leaned into his touch, before bursting out laughing as he belted out the last lines of the song, before finishing my hair and gently pushing me out of the water so he could wash himself as well. One of his own songs came on next, and we both grinned at one another, before yelling the intro to Adore U - me being Seungcheol, and him taking Vernon's part before whispering Jun's lines together. We stayed in the shower for some time, mostly singing and dancing (and him actually showering) before the water went cold and we were forced to get out. He pulled a towel out of the cabinet for him, before grabbing a black one and tossing it towards me. We stood side by side as we dried off, and wrapping our hair up in the towels when our bodies were dry. I started pulling on clean clothes, while he walked out of the bathroom and into our room with nothing on but a towel on his head. I watched his pale backside until he was completely out of the room, before pulling a shirt over my head and towel hat. "I know you were staring at my butt, by the way." Soonyoung's voice echoed in my head, and I burst out laughing at his words, continuing on my mission to get completely dressed before he came back. 

Eventually, after another twenty minutes of getting ready (which may or may not have included lots of kissing and dancing), we were finally ready to go. We both had on thick black masks covering the bottom halves of our faces, ready for a day on the town to find some contacts to hide the new color blooming in Soonyoung's eyes. He luckily had a pair that would cover up the color for the day, a bright blue that meshed well with his pale skin and stood out with his freshly bleached platinum blonde hair. Luckily, the color didn't effect my eyes, so I was able to leave without contacts. 

We took the subway, and spent countless hours shopping - ending up with way more than just contacts. It was almost impossible to fit all the bags loaded on our arms in the front door, but we managed it, setting them down in the living room before heading to the kitchen to make dinner. After that, we unloaded all the goods we got and put them away, and snuggling up on the couch when we were done. Soonyoung's arms automatically wound around my waist, pulling me into his lap and letting me bury my face in his neck.   
-  
Evidently, we fell asleep like that, and he was gone when I woke up the next morning. I stretched, and heard noises in the kitchen, stifling a yawn as I padded into the room. There was already a cup of coffee waiting on the island, made just the way I liked it. I smiled sleepily at the blond boy, who was flipping bacon on the stove while bread was toasting in the toaster. I wrapped my arms around his waist from behind, burying my face in his back. 

"How did I get so lucky?" I wondered out loud, my voice muffled. I felt him giggle, before he retorted with a stupid one liner that I rolled my eyes at, before stealing a piece of cooked bacon from the plate next to the stove, sitting down at the island to wait patiently (read: impatiently) for breakfast to get done. I watched as my beautiful boyfriend scrambled eggs and poured them into a hot pan, before piling the toast and bacon on a plate, as well as the eggs when they were done, and sliding it across the countertop to me when it was done. I couldn't help the grin that blessed my lips as I dug in.  
-  
Later that night, I was curled up with him in bed, his hands running up and down the length of my back as I drifted off to sleep. He whispered sweet nothings in my ear as I left him for dream land. 

I didn't hear him as he thought about the diamond ring in the nightstand drawer, hidden inside of a book that I would never read, the pages glued together and a hole cut out to hide the surprise in. I didn't hear him as he whispered that he couldn't wait to get married, to truly start our lives together.


	13. Vernon (Seventeen)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please forgive me if the formatting is off lmao It's almost one in the morning and I just got done writing this, and I hope it's okay?? also during the text parts, names like Eomma and Wonwon are what the boys are saved as in the readers phone (and these are also names that I call them, or that I relate to them or whatever) so there's that too  
> \--  
> Eomma - Jeonghan  
> Joshie - Joshua  
> Wonwon - Wonwoo  
> Woozles - Woozi/Jihoon  
> Hao-bèi - The8/Minghao  
> Moonhui - Jun/Junhui  
> Donkey Kong - DK/Seokmin  
> Sol - Vernon/Hansol  
> \--  
> Au - Soulmates have each others names on a part of their body, can be platonic or romantic.  
> Genre - Slight angst-y stuff in the beginning, but mostly fluff

Even with the chilly winter wind nipping at my nose and the exposed parts of my face, I felt warm sitting side by side with him, our backs resting on the brick wall that separated us from his apartment. Our laughter fill the corridor, echoing against the walls and mingling with the sound of my palm hitting his shoulder in response to a joke he made, a giggle escaping my lips nonetheless. After a few moments, we fell silent and just sat next to each other, the silence comfortable until I decided to break it. "Hey, Vernon?" I asked quietly, turning to look at the boy next to me, who looked back at me with a raised brow and a smile playing on his lips.

He hummed in acknowledgement, prompting me to continue. "Have you found your soulmate yet?" I continued, eyes darting down to the ground as I readjusted my sleeve, before meeting his gaze once more. He nodded, smile growing larger.

"I have, and you've met them too." He teased with a wink, before reaching up to move pull his beanie slightly away from his head and tucking his hair out of the way to show me the tattoo just behind his ear, exposing his pale skin to my eyes and the bitter wind. My heart sunk at the 'Boo Seungkwan' scrawled in Hangul on his skin, the name on my wrist burning at the sight. Quickly, he pulled his sleeve down again as a shiver wracked his body. "What about you?" He questioned suddenly, hand reaching out to grab my wrist. I couldn't pull away fast enough, and let him pull my sleeve up to examine the words on my skin.

"Hansol Vernon Choi, my best friend for as long as I can rememeber, is my soulmate." I replied softly, looking down at my feet. Shame filled my body as I realized what this meant - I was nothing more than a glitch in the soulmate system, so to speak. My soulmate had another's name written on his skin, adorning the place where mine should have been. His cheeks turned a bright red, although I wasn't sure if it was from the cold wind, or the sight of his name decorating my skin. 

It took him a few moments to gather his thoughts and respond to my confession. "I'm sorry (Y/N)..." He trailed off, pity evident in his voice. "I may not be your soulmate, but it'll work out in the end, I promise." At his words, I yanked my wrist from his loose grip and stood up quickly, mumbling a quick excuse as I rushed away, listening to him call my name as he gave chase. I bolted down the stairs and across the street, not bothering to check if there were any cars speeding towards me, managing to make it across safely before turning down a side street that I used as a shortcut to my apartment. I slowed down as I got closer and closer to home, chest heaving as I tried to catch my breath. As the apartment building came into view, I started jogging again, slowing down when I had to go up the stairs, before unlocking the door to my apartment and slipping inside, locking the door behind me. The extra layers of clothing that swamped my frame were promptly pulled off and thrown to the side as I escaped to my bedroom, throwing myself down on the bed and burying my face in the pillow. A broken sob left my mouth, followed soon after by another and another. 

Soon enough, I found the strength to sit up, eyes wet and swollen. My phone angrily blinked at me from the nightstand, so I picked it up to see what it was. There were 27 missed calls in total, 326 messages from the group chat, 5 from Jeonghan, and 13 from Vernon. I typed in my password, navigating to my chat with Jeonghan and quickly reading over his texts.  
-

1:32 PM

 **[Eomma]** (y/n)??? 

**[Eomma]** are you okay??? 

**[Eomma]** are you home??? 

**[Eomma]** pls tell me youre alright

 **[Eomma]** vernon wont tell us whats wrong

2:15 PM

 ** **[Me]**** Im ok, Hannie

 ** **[Me]**** I promise

2:16 PM

 **[Eomma]** im omw

-  
The short conversation simply drained my energy more as I realized that he was coming over and I have no choice in the matter. I tossed my phone to the side as I flopped back on the bed, letting my body sink into the soft surface as my eyelids drifted closed. Mere moments later, the sound of the door opening caught my attention but I figured that it was just Jeonghan, since he knew where the key was hidden. The sound of footsteps got louder as the person in question padded to my room, dropping something - quite loudly, might I add - in my doorway, before I finally opened my eyes to see who the intruder was, sitting up once more. Jeonghan was making his way to my side, cheeks pink from the wind and his bleach blond hair tousled. Trailing behind him was Soonyoung, his black hair covered by a cap that was lowered over his eyes. Seungcheol was the last to enter, and I assumed that he had stopped to lock the front door behind the three of them. Jeonghan took his place next to me, gently tugging me into his warm embrace. Tears filled my eyes at the soft, caring gesture, and I buried my face in his shoulder with a sob. He stayed still, letting me cry into his shoulder as he rubbed my back. The other two made their way to the bed, wrapping me in their embraces as well, allowing me to release the grief and disappointment that came with rejection. We stayed like that for what seemed like an eternity, letting me cry until my eyes burned and my cheeks felt raw. I pulled away, and they took that as the hint to release me from the hug. "I'm sorry about your shirt." I sniffled, motioning to the wet patch on Jeonghan's shoulder. He shrugged it off with a chuckle, reassuring me that it was okay before taking my hand and leading me to the bathroom to wash my face. When we were done, we walked out of the bathroom to see my bedroom empty; the sound of the TV running in the living room was a clear indication where the other two had disappeared to, however. 

Soonyoung excitedly called my name as Jeonghan and I stepped into the living room, patting the spot next to him with a small smile, a pint of ice cream with a spoon stuck in it propped up in his lap. I couldn't help the small giggle that left my lips as I made my way to his side, plopping down next to him and snatching the ice cream from his grip. He whined playfully at me as I scooped some up and ate it, humming with content as the sweet taste spread across my tongue. Seungcheol came out of the kitchen bearing bags of sweets and chips, setting them down on the coffee table before going to rest on the loveseat with Jeonghan, the younger making room for the eldest in the small space. 

The three men around me were some of the lucky ones - they all found their soulmates at a relatively young age, and they were all within our friend group. Jeonghan and Seungcheol (otherwise known as the parents of the group) were one pair, while Soonyoung and Seokmin were the other; and evidently, Vernon and Seungkwan were yet another pair. They were the only ones within our group that I knew of, and I was truly happy for them. 

After three movies, countless bags of chips and sweets, and at least three pints of ice cream, two out of three of the boys were finally heading home for the night. Seungcheol and Soonyoung left the apartment, taking some of the leftover snacks with them to feed the hungry beasts at home - namely Seokmin, who was begging for his boyfriend to bring something sweet. Jeonghan had made my bed his home for the night, sprawled out across the blankets with his phone in hand as he scrolled through social media. I joined him after a few minutes, once I was done locking up and throwing out the trash left over from the boys who had just left. I threw myself down next to him, after grabbing my phone. I finally decided to check the group chat, which had even more messages in it than it did when I saw it last. I groaned, and Jeonghan muttered a small 'what', before peeking over my shoulder and seeing the mass of texts that I was currently staring at with slight apprehension. When he laid back down, I opened the chat and started scrolling, skimming through it and only stopping at points that seemed important. About ten minutes after Jeonghan had messaged me directly, Vernon was messaging the guys in the group chat.  
-

1:46 PM 

**[Sol]** has any1 heard from (y/n)?? 

**[Joshie]** No, why? 

****[Wonwon]**** What's wrong with (Y/N)? 

**[Hao-bèi]** ^^^

 **[Moonhui]** ^^

 **[Sol]** i found out smth

 **[Sol]** i'm their soulmate

 **[Sol]** but boo is mine

 **[Sol]** and i had to tell them that

 **[Sol]** they took off and idk where they went... 

-  
I didn't bother reading the rest of the conversation, skimming through it instead until another part caught my eye. It was a short conversation between Minghao, Jun, and Seokmin, which looked like it took place just after we started the first movie, which was followed by another three.  
-

2:45 PM 

**[Hao-bèi]** no word yet? 

**[Moonhui]** Jeonghan hyung said that they were with (Y/N) 

**[Moonhui]** but he didn't say much else

 **[Donkey Kong]** the real question is

 **[Donkey Kong]** when are you going to tell them? 

**[Hao-bèi]** when the time is right

 **[Moonhui]** ^^

-  
I stared at it for a few minutes, before scrolling past it and deciding not to bother trying to decipher it. After another hundred or so more messages, I gave up and set my phone on the nightstand after locking it. "Hannie~" I whined, turning on my side to face the aforementioned man, who finally put his phone down to look back at me. "We need to sleep soon." I finished, satisfied now that I had his attention, before getting off the bed to tug the covers down and slide under them, pulling them back up to my chin as soon as I got comfortable. Jeonghan joined me soon after, laying on his side and facing me. I stayed on my back, but turned my head to look at him. There was still one thing that was itching at the back of my mind, but I didn't want to bring it up until I could talk to the people that it concerned. 

"I'm glad you're okay, (Y/N)." He whispered softly, reaching out to grasp my hand gently. "I promise that things will get better." He added, before releasing my hand from his grip and turning to lay on his stomach, face turned away from me as his breathing slowed and he quickly fell asleep. His words only confused me more as I rolled over to my side, facing away from him as I grabbed my phone once more, turning it on and lowering the brightness before unlocking it and navigating to the group chat. It seemed like Joshua and Jihoon were the only two still awake, since they had been messaging a minute before I got on there.  
-

10:12 PM

 **[Woozles]** seriously tho, is (y/n) ok? 

**[Joshie]** Yeah, Seungcheol hyung said that they were fine when him and Soonyoung left

 **[Joshie]** He said they watched movies and pigged out

10:14 PM

 **[Me]** Hey... 

**[Me]** Im sorry for worrying yall

 **[Me]** Im ok

10:16 PM 

**[Joshie]** Nononono

 **[Joshie]** (Y/N) 

**[Joshie]** It's fine

10:17 PM

 **[Me]** No really

 **[Me]** I shouldve texted yall

10:19 PM

 **[Woozles]** (y/n), don't worry about it

 **[Woozles]** we understand

-  
We spent a few more minutes chatting, the two of them assuring me that it was okay and that they would have done something similar had they been in my shoes, until Jihoon finally admitted that he needed sleep before he died of deprivation. I told him good night, before telling Joshua that I was leaving as well, but probably not to sleep. He replied to text him if I needed him, and I sent a heart back in reply. I set my phone back in it's place on the nightstand, before quietly getting out of bed and going to the living room. I turned on a small lamp on the end table, digging out my favorite book from underneath the coffee table when I had a bad habit of leaving it. Soon enough, a warm blanket was draped over my shoulders and I was enveloped in a fictional world not much different from the one that I was living in. 

When I woke with the book still open on my chest and faint morning light filtering in through the thin curtains covering the windows, I realized that I couldn't remember falling asleep in the first place. The book tumbled from my chest unceremoniously as I stretched, groaning as my joints popped. I kicked it gently under the table, shrugging the blanket off as I got up from the couch and sleepily padded to the bedroom. Jeonghan was snoring away peacefully, his bleach blond hair ruffled and tangled from sleep. I didn't let this stop me, as I crept over the bed to kneel next to him, shaking his shoulder and whining incoherently about food. He groaned in response, turning his head away from me in an attempt to return to sleep - however, I was not about to give up and gave him a harsh shove which sent him tumbling to the floor. At the last second, he grabbed my wrist and dragged me down with him, leaving us to dissolve in a puddle of laughter and aching backsides on the floor. The ringing of the doorbell sobered the two of us up quickly, however, as we scrambled to get up and race to see who thought it was okay to bug us this early in the morning. 

I peeked through the peephole, recognizing Minghao and Junhui almost instantly, who both came bearing bags of what appeared to be food. I hurriedly unlocked the door and ushered the two in, out of the cold morning wind. Jeonghan and I took the bags from them, the smell of hot fast food filling my nose as the two newcomers stripped off extra layers and their shoes, putting them away neatly in the closet behind the door. By the time they shuffled into the living room, I was halfway through shoving a sausage biscuit into my mouth - cheeks filled with food and puffed out like a chipmunks. Jeonghan didn't look much better, although he was currently immersed in his phone, presumably texting Seungcheol. Nobody really spoke while we ate, until Jeonghan finally said that he needed to get going to work on a project. I hugged him goodbye and walked him out, before returning to my rightful place across the coffee table from the two Chinese boys. One of them had cleared the table, sorting the leftovers into one bag and the trash into another, and set them to the side. 

We settled into a comfortable silence as I leaned back on the couch, before Minghao cleared his throat. "We actually didn't come here just to bring you breakfast. We came to tell you something..." He trailed off, sharing a glance with the man beside him. Junhui nodded, gesturing for him to continue. "I'm not sure if you knew...but the tattoos that you, Hansol, and Seungkwan have can be platonic or romantic. Some people only get one, some get two, and there are people that have three or more, and the placement is what determines if they're romantic or platonic." He continued uncertainly, looking again to Junhui to help him out. 

With a small sigh, Jun continued, "What he's saying is, that Hansol may be your platonic soulmate...but you are our romantic soulmate." I blinked slowly at him, the words not quite processing as I gestured for him to say it one more time. He repeated it, watching as the words clicked and my face went blank. There were a million thoughts running through my head as I tried to put everything together, tried to sort through the feelings filling my chest. For a minute, I did nothing but stare blankly between the two of them, until a brilliant smile finally broke across my face. 

"But what does that mean about the two of you?" I questioned, my grin slowly beginning to fade at the thought of having to choose between the two of them. They looked at one another and nodded in unison, before turning their backs on me and shifting their hair out of the way to show me the black ink shining across the backs of their necks, just under their hairline. I recognized the characters as being Chinese, but I didn't know what they said. Shifting slightly to face one another, their hands moved to expose the ink hidden behind their ears. My mouth dropped open in shock at seeing my name written in my native tongue across their skin, before they turned to face me again and let their hair fall to cover the tattoos. "So the two of you are soulmates...and I'm your soulmate as well?" I scrambled to gather my thoughts, the sight of my name on their skin causing the whole process to stop and be forced to restart. Junhui nodded, grinning slightly.

"It also means that you should have our names in the same places - mine behind your right ear, and Jun's behind your left." Minghao piped up, before asking if it would be okay if he came to look. I nodded in response, allowing him to sit on the couch behind me and move my hair out of the way to expose the inked skin. He made a small noise of affirmation and gestured for Junhui to get up and look. I was startled when Minghao traced a gentle finger over the ink spelling out his name, a shiver running down my spine at his cold skin touching my warm skin. After a few minutes, the two got up and returned to their original places. "There is still one thing we need to talk about." Minghao said after a moment of deliberation, adding, "Your feelings for Hansol." 

I bit my lip, gently gnawing on the inside as I thought it over. "I do love Hansol, but I think part of it was just because I thought he was the soulmate that I would marry someday." I replied slowly, weighing my words carefully. The two nodded, small smiles gracing their lips in unison. I couldn't help myself from grinning at them, a feeling of peace and content settling over the room as we just absorbed everything that happened this morning. "Although, I don't know how we'd fit three people in my bed, because a nap sounds really good right now." I added thoughtfully, half joking and half serious. Minghao's eyes widened at my statement, a light blush covering his cheeks. Junhui, on the other hand...had the audacity to wink at me. "Nope, never mind. There's only going to be two people in that bed in a bit." I shook my head quickly, laughing all the while. Junhui scooted to sit next to me, whining that I was being cruel and that it wasn't fair. Minghao dissolved into a pile of laughter at his hyung begging for a place in the soft, warm bed next to his soulmates. Soon enough, I had joined him in laughing, until Junhui got up and raced into the bedroom, locking the door behind him. 

Minghao and I groaned in unison, before getting up to plead with Jun to let us in, still breathless from laughing. 

Not even ten minutes later, I found myself stuck in between the two men, their arms wrapped around my waist. Somehow, I managed to grab my phone to send a quick message to the group chat, before throwing it onto the nightstand and snuggling up to the two warm bodies on either side of me, falling asleep surrounded by the warmth and comfort provided by the two.  
-

8:26 AM

 **[Me]** So

 **[Me]** um

 **[Me]** I found my soulmates

 **[Me]** sorry abt earlier, Sol

8:30 AM

 **[Sol]** it's np, (y/n) 

**[Sol]** i told you it'd work out


	14. Wonwoo (Seventeen)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm really sorry that it's taken this long, y'all ;-; I've been super busy lately and haven't really had the time or motivation to write, but I've had this idea stuck in my head for about a week now, and I needed to get it written down (: so, please enjoy!   
> \--  
> Au - A touch from your soulmate will leave an imprint there, and the color will reflect whatever emotion they are feeling at the time.  
> Genre - major fluff

When I was young, I could never picture myself falling in love with a total stranger, it didn't matter if we were destined to be or not. However, slowly but surely, I found myself falling in love with the idea of falling in love after reading countless novels about people like me finding their soulmates, but I still couldn't find it in myself to believe the idea that I would ever actually fall in love, or that anybody would ever fall in love with me. 

I had no idea what my trigger was, either. There was no timer imbedded into my wrist, initials scrawled anywhere on my skin; I didn't wear a mask that couldn't be removed, and the only things that I tasted where the things that I was eating or drinking. While my friends were living happily and meeting their soulmates one after the other, I was still alone. It was like everybody else was walking into a new part of their lives with somebody by their side, and I was stuck in the same, dark room. Alone.

However, my life made a complete 180 during my senior year of high school, just months before I was going to graduate. Of course, it was the one day that year that I had been running late and arrived at the front gate with just moments to spare before the first bell; the only problem was that my class was on the other side of the campus, and I'd have to book it to make it on time, which seemed like an easy task. 

That is, until I smashed into somebody and threw us both to the ground, my knees settling on the concrete on either side of his hips and my hands on his arms, holding myself up. I scrambled to my feet, stepped to the side and took off running once more, yelling a 'sorry!' over my shoulder. The boy simply stayed on the ground, astounded at the events that had just taken place, and so shocked that he didn't notice the black handprints blooming on his biceps, nor did I notice the black patches staining my hands. Until, of course, lunchtime when one of my friends pointed it out and I had to mask the shock that threatened to expose my true feelings about the situation. 

Just a few days later, I was walking the halls side by side with my best friend since the eighth grade, squeezing past countless other students and bumping shoulders with quite a few of them, unknown hands brushing against mine. I was too busy laughing at something that was said to realize that I had brushed past the boy once more, leaving a bright yellow streak across the back of his hand - the spot that he stared at for a good minute before looking up at my retreating form. By then, it was far too late for him to catch up without making a scene, so he let it be, once again. 

Then, days turned into weeks turned into months and turned into years, his face slowly fading from my mind as mine cemented itself into his. I was working full time at a cafe just down the street from my apartment. It was a small, quaint place that never failed to put a smile on my face and ease the tension from my shoulders. I mainly stayed behind the counter, mixing the drinks and pulling baked goods from the back and displaying them in the glass case for the customers to peruse. On a slow day, I could throw myself down in the corner and check my phone, waiting for the bell to ding and announce that there was somebody that needed serving - which was what was happening today. I had assumed my position in the corner, back pressed against the wall and legs crossed under me as I replied to a few tweets. The bell swinging from the door chimed as somebody walked in, and I popped up to go take their order. Thin, slanted eyes widened in suprise as he seemed to recognize me, but I didn't have the faintest clue as to who he was. I took his order, in awe on the inside due to his incredibly deep voice. When I asked for his name, he replied with a quick "Wonwoo", and I asked if I knew him from somewhere.

A small smile graced his lips. "Yeah, I'm Jeon Wonwoo. You straddled me one day on the way to class." The words left his mouth in a joking tone, but I felt my cheeks heat up at the memory as I stumbled over myself to apologize once again. "It's really no big deal, don't worry about it." His smile widened, his eyes closing into crescents and I couldn't help myself from smiling back. Soon after, I was handing him his drink and the pastry that he wanted, our hands brushing softly and I watched as the soft pink danced across his fingertips, matching the same tone that occupied my fingers. I couldn't help the gasp that left my lips, eyes widening in shock at the sight, wondering if maybe this was my trigger, and my soulmate. However, the thought was quickly combatted with the years worth of doubt and uncertainty that I harbored towards the system. I couldn't bring myself to meet his eyes, until his fingers were sliding in between mine and I watched in silence as nearly his whole hand was swallowed by the soft color, mimicking mine. I looked up at him, eyes meeting his. They held a hint of a promise, of a future. When he offered me a seat in his booth so we could talk, I didn't refuse. We talked for hours, until it was nearly closing time and then he walked me home. Before he left, I leaned up to leave a small kiss on his cheek, the yellow from my lips diffusing with the bright red staining his face; that's all I saw before I turned around and jogged away, my cheeks burning bright. 

I fell in love with the idea of falling in love, and eventually, I realized that I was falling in love - and he was falling in love with me. 

Which, of course, led to where we are now. I stood in the small kitchen of an even smaller apartment, a pot on the stove full of hot water, with a measuring cup of chocolate carefully balanced on top of it. The smell of chocolate mixed with the sweet smell of the scented pinecones that filled a basket on top of the electric fireplace, which was currently emitting heat to warm the cold space. I heard the telltale sign of glass hitting the floor, and looked over to see Wonwoo sheepishly look up as he picked up an ornament that he had dropped while decorating the tree, the one he picked that that barely brushed the ceiling and was already decorated with tinsel and a bead garland, a shimmering star perched on top of it. Our puppy bounced around his feet, stopping momentarily to bat at the end of the tinsel that hung near the ground. 

I squatted down, brushing my fingers on the cold tile floor as I sweetly called the puppy. "Haru~ C'mere baby~" I cooed softly, watching the small creature skitter towards me, sliding to a stop just in time to stand on his hind legs and lick my face. I giggled softly, picking the bundle of fur up so that I could stir the chocolate before it could burn. "Wonwoo, can you come pour this in the pan?" I called, still littering kisses across the pup's face. He hummed in acknoledgement, before setting down the ornaments that he was carefully sheltering in his arms to stand by my side and pour the chocolate into a glass pan that was lined with baking paper. I smiled at him, before asking him to put it in the freezer, which he did - but not before dipping his finger in the liquid and offering it to me to suck off. I hummed in delight, the sweet taste spreading across my tongue. His finger turned a bright shade of red, and I grinned before standing on my tiptoes to kiss his cheek, marking it with the same color. He took it a step further and captured my lips with his, completely forgetting about the chocolate sitting on the counter. 

I broke away with the promise that I would bring more color to his body later, after the decorating and cooking was done, winking suggestively at him as he shook his head, laughter bubbling up from his chest at my words. 

Years ago, I couldn't find it in myself to accept that I would one day love and be loved, but now, I wouldn't have it any other way.


	15. The8 (Seventeen)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I said that I would update like...a month ago...but, I've literally had no motivation to do anything lately lmao but I finally finished this, and I'm gonna be working on another one tomorrow, as well as an actual chaptered fic bc why not, I love suffering. Anyways, enjoy this literal mess bc I have no idea what I'm doing anymore. (also Hao is about 14 in this, Sicheng (Winwin from NCT) is aged down a year so him and the reader are both 13, and they all go to the same private school type thing idek anymore)   
> \--  
> Au - Same marking on each soulmates skin, in the same spot.   
> Genre - lots of fluff, slight/tiny bit of angst

At one year old, I was a happy, bouncing baby that never cried. My parents used to tell me that I was always smiling, reaching out to grab them when they came into the room and laughing. They said that there was never a dull moment when I learned to walk, when I could finally get into the things that I had been eyeing for a while. 

They said that I had always been a curious kid, always wanting to learn and find out new things that were happening in the world around me. So, of course, I wanted to know everything that there was to know about my soulmate. The only problem was that none of us had any clue who it was, or where they were. Of course, I had always thought my parent were lucky, having found each other years before I came into the picture. 

They lived together happily, filling my childhood home with loud laughter and precious memories. When we moved to a smaller apartment closer to town, to accomodate their job, I was heartbroken. We left behind years of memories, locked into the rooms of that small house. However, that just meant that we were making new memories in the new place. 

Then, when I was eleven, they sent me to a private school away from my hometown. At the time, I simply shrugged and thought that they wanted me to get a better education, so I was thoroughly shocked when I recieved the call just after my second year there started that they had passed away. I broke down sobbing when I was told that they had a rare condition, where they both had the same illnesses and injuries, so when one parent was diagnosed with a fatal disease, the other would follow soon after. I bawled when I came to the realization that they had sent me away so I wouldn't have to watch them suffer and slowly fade away into nothingness. 

I spent three days holed up in the dorm, locked in my room as I mourned the loss of my beloved parents. I went home the next day for the funeral, to say my final goodbyes. The day after, I had to go back to school and actually attend class or else I would be booted from the school. I realized that I hadn't attended any of my classes thus far, and had no idea where they were, or even who I had class with. 

The morning after I arrived back at the dorm, I woke up and threw on my uniform, before inspecting my face in the mirror as I tried to fix my bedhead. Dark circles had set in underneath my eyes, due to lack of sleep. I waved it off, deciding that I wouldn't even bother with trying to cover them up. I finished getting ready, and grabbed my bag and schedule before making my way to the first floor and navigating to the first class of the day, where I was a few minutes early to arrive. Behind the door, I could hear the chatter of my classmates and I took a deep breath before opening the door and stepping inside, shutting it softly behind me. When I looked up, half of my classmates had turned to stare at me - including a new kid, I saw. One of them yelled something that I couldn't hear over the fast beating of my heart, breaths turning shallow as I lowered my gaze to my feet, unable to look back at the people in front of me. 

That is, until a hand caught my wrist and I jumped. Hard. A soft laugh followed my movement, followed by words that my brain was either to slow to process or just didn't understand. I made a small noise of confusion as I turned to face the person, the classroom slowly fading to white noise as I caught sight of the person - the new boy, who had pulled me from my panic. He murmured something else, and I did nothing but stare at him. He stared back intently, and the first thing I noticed was his eyes. They were dark, at first glance they looked nearly black; an unsettling color, but I realized that they were actually brown, as dark as the coffee my parents used to drink. In my panicked state, I didn't question how he had gotten to my side so fast, or why he was touching me - all I knew was that it felt right. He tugged lightly, guiding me back out of the door that I had just come in and to the side, out of the way. I took a deep breath and released it, trying to ease the beating of my heart back to a normal pace. He waited patiently, fingers rubbing soothing circles into the skin that he could reach and showing a flash of black ink between his fingers every once in a while. As I calmed down, I found that my eyes were drawn to the black and I reached out to take his hand in mine and examine it. Although I had no idea what it said, the characters were familiar and not even a minute later did I realize why. 

"Are you...okay?" He asked, voice quiet and uncertain as he spoke in my native tongue. I nodded, before pointing at his mark, and then holding up my hand to show him the matching one adorning my finger. His mouth dropped open in shock, and I could see the variety of emotions swimming in his eyes as the bell rang but neither of us moved to get into the classroom. I searched his face, waiting for the first signs of rejection in the making or regret to appear, but instead found myself watching as his face softened into a look of fondness and hope. "无穷." Although I couldn't understand what he said, I assumed that it had something to do with his - no, our - markings. "Infinity." He whispered, the edges of his lips pulling up into a gentle smile. 

I found myself smiling back as his fingers interlaced with mine, before the door next to us opened and a student poked their head out. "The teacher wants to know why you're still in the hall." When they spotted our hands, a look of understanding crossed their face. "I'll tell her that you'll be here in a minute." I nodded in response, waiting for the door to shut before leaning on the boy - my soulmate. 

"I don't even know your name." I laughed lightly as the thought crossed my mind, letting it spill from my lips without a second thought. His smile got wider, and his eyes turned to half moons. The words slipped from his lips like melted butter, but his name came out of my mouth broken and half formed, punctuated halfway through with a small giggle of disbelief that I couldn't say his name. We stayed like that for a moment, him repeating his name until I managed to say it right, before he led me by the hand back into the classroom, where we took a seat at the back of the room. The teacher made a snide remark, one that I let slip because I was too absorbed in the presence beside me. 

We compared schedules after class, and were disappointed to find that we didn't share many of the same courses. Of course, this was due to the fact that he was nearly a year older than me and was in the next grade. We did have the same lunch, however, and I found out that he lived in the dorm room just a couple doors down from mine. That's where we ended up going after the school day was over, where I got to meet his roomate Sicheng, who was my same age and in the same grade, but had been going to the school longer than I had. We spent the rest of the day getting to know one another, the three of us sitting on the couch in their dorm until it started getting late. I leaned on Minghao, and he wrapped his arm around my shoulders as I started drifting off to sleep, listening to the two boys speaking in a language that sounded slurred but sharp to my tired ears.   
\--  
The next morning, I woke up and found myself wrapped in his arms, his back resting against the arm of the chair and my body basically on top of his, covered in a thick blanket that had been thrown over the two of us during the night. However, the warmth of his body against mine, combined with the blanket encouraged sleep to pull me under once again, and I let myself relax against him, eyes sliding shut as I let out a small sigh of content.


	16. Seungkwan (Seventeen)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> ...so, uh, hi. I literally wrote this in about 3 hours and had to stop before it got any longer lmao I got really inspired to write something with hanahaki after reading a TaeKook fic called 'I Bloomed For You' and it's so good, I highly recommend reading it. just a quick warning tho, this one-shot does deal with death and disease, so beware.   
>  \--  
> AU - Temperature gets hotter the nearer they are, colder when they are further away  
> Genre - Angst

It was all his fault, I reminded myself bitterly as I sat across from the object of my affections and reason for my affliction, sitting comfortably next to his boyfriend. The smile that I had plastered to my lips began to slip as I found myself dipping just a touch too far into my thoughts, hiding it quickly as I took a sip of the hot coffee sitting on the table in front of me. Even though it was the beginning of June, and the sun was beating down hard outside, I still found solace in the hot drink. 

"(Y/N)? Are you okay?" Vernon was the one to break the moderately uncomfortable silenc, his words quiet in the loud cafe we had been inhabiting for the past half hour. I simply nodded in reply, before I felt the familiar itching in my throat, turning to the side and roughly coughing for a moment. I prayed that there wouldn't be a fountain of petals falling from my lips, and thanked the stars when the flood remained in my hest. After I had collected my breathe once more, I turned to the two men with a smile.

"I'm okay, I think I just have a small cold." I lied, knowing good and well that it was more than just a cold - that the love that I had for Seungkwan had turned into something darker and more sinister, something that was killing me from the inside out. Neither Vernon nor Seungkwan knew that something once beautiful was blooming in my chest, and neither knew that eventually I would wither away into nothingness. Neither of them knew that I may as well have a florist in my chest to provide all the flowers that I would eventually suffocate on.

Neither of them knew that Seungkwan was my soulmate, and he was the reason that I had only a short few weeks left to live.

I allowed myself the pleasure of slipping into their conversation, smiling at the stupid jokes we shared and the memories that perforated the table we occupied. I allowed myself these moments of happiness, because I wasn't sure that I would have time to enjoy them later. 

Eventually, I took my leave, using the excuse that I needed to get home to finish a project for class. They smiled and nodded, Seungkwan waving their intertwined hands in a goodbye as I left, the smile slipping from my lips as soon as I was out of sight and the cold took over my body once more. I was only warm when I was close to Seungkwan, and it showed in the summer heat that couldn't seem to penetrate the cold burrowed deep in my body. The truth was, there was no project - instead, I had felt the petals beginning to make their way up my throat and I needed to be as far as possible so that neither of the boys would question why I was hunched over in a dirty alley, parts of soft yellow flowers spilling from my lips.

I knew the disease would slowly progress, causing me to slip from the life that I once led as though I was never there in the first place. However, that didn't stop me from dedicating my time to a final journal, a goodbye letter to the people that I loved, to my family, to Seungkwan, explaining why I had hid my disease and my soulmate from the rest of them. Explaining why I left quietly in the night, dying alone in a hospital bed hours away from the place that I called home. Hours away from the only people that could save me. 

Thankfully, I made it to my dingy studio apartment mere minutes before the fit started. I leaned over the kitchen sink, letting the petals fall from my shaking lips as my bod was wracked with coughs, allowing them to fall in a shower down the drain. I rinsed them down the moment that I was able to breathe again, scrubbing at the remains vigorously with my hands. My throat was ragged from the sudden assault, so I dug around in the cabinets for something to ease the burn. Hidden in the back of one was a bag of honey sweets that Seungkwan made me keep, just in case I got sick, and I figured that now would be as good of a time as any to use them. With the sweet in my mouth and the itching ebbing away, I sighed in relief as I threw myself down on my unmade daybed situated against the wall, across from the small bookshelf that was topped with a tv, which I turned on as I pulled the leatherbound journal out from underneath the bed. With a show running in the background, I flipped to the next set of empty pages, and set to work decorating them. I wrote about today, making sure that I apologized for lying to Seungkwan and Vernon, and wondering what was wrong with me, that I would wish it was me beside Seungkwan, and Vernon slowly withering away from this horrible disease. 

When I was done, I ripped a piece of paper out of the bak and began to write the letter that I would hang on the door before I left. I had already told the landlord that I would be moved out by the end of the month, and had informed them that my friends would be by to clear out the apartment - however, I made it sound as though I was just moving and they were helping me, instead of me dying. I figured that if it was definite that I was going to die, I may as well get everything sorted out before I went. At the end of the letter, I wrote down the address of the hospital that I planned on going to, so that they would have a chance to say goodbye. 

With the letter finished and packed into an envelope, I felt a wave of exhaustion pass over me, sweeping over the cold in an instant. Since I developed Hanahaki, I found myself getting tired at random intervals, and found that it was best not to fight them. So, I laid down and went to sleep.   
\--  
A week later, I found myself once again sat across from the happy couple in the same exact cafe, the same exact drink sat in front of me, and a happy Soonyoung by my side. None of them had mentioned the bags developing underneath my eyes, or that my face seemed sharper that it was before. Slowly but surely, the disease was starting to take it's toll on my body. After digging through information on Hanahaki, I found that the disease could progress quickly or slowly - it depended on the bond. Because I watched Seungkwan be happy with Vernon, with no sign of romantic feelings for me, the disease progressed fairly quickly. Nausea had taken away my will to eat, and I was beginning to get more tired than I was used to, combined with the fact that I was cold when I was away from Seungkwan, which meant that I stayed in bed most days. 

Breaking from my thoughts with a small squeeze on my hand from Soonyoung, I looked up to see the three looking at me worriedly. "(Y/N), are you all right? You feel a little bit hot." Soonyoung murmured, pressing his wrist to my forehead in an attempt to gauge my temperature. I jerked away, before nodding rapidly. 

"Yeah, I probably just have a fever from that cold." I lied easily, smiling to try and ease Soonyoung's nerves.

Vernon stared at me, unwavering. "If it's still affecting you like this, you should probably see a doctor." He replied, Seungkwan nodding in agreement by his side. Of course, the nurse in training would be the one to recommend that I go to the hospital for a disease that they couldn't cure. I resisted the urge to roll my eyes, instead saying that I would go to the hospital in a week if it still wasn't better. I knew that I wouldn't be going to the hospital in a week, unless my health took a sudden turn for the worse. I figured that I had another week or so before I would need to leave, but none of them needed to know that. 

Seungkwan and Vernon were the first to leave, waving goodbye as the cold slowly slipped back into my body and I couldn't fight the shiver that passed over me. Soonyoung noticed, staring at me worriedly before I drank the rest of my coffee. I got up and he followed as I threw my paper cup in the trash, making my way outside into the warm sun. I sighed in content as Soonyoung walked beside me on the way home, the silence comforting. Soonyoung lived a block down from me, and had taken to walking me home whenever we hung out together, making this no different from the past. 

However, he stopped me as I stepped onto the first stair in front of my building. "Wh-?" I couldn't even get out a full word before there were lips on mine and arms wrapped around my waist. Stunned, I stared at him with wide eyes until he pulled away, slowly opening his eyes to look at me. 

"I wanted to do that, just once, before you move." He whispered softly, releasing me and walking away, in the direction of his apartment building. After a few seconds, I remembered that I had lied to the group and said that I was moving to another city, too far away to be able to see them every day or even once a week. However, I couldn't stop myself from touching my lips, feeling the warmth that he had left there.

After making it into my apartment and through another fit, I heard my phone vibrate. There was a single text from Soonyoung, simply saying 'I'm sorry', and I knew that would be the last I heard from him for a while.  
\--  
A week passed, and I was lying in bed, finishing up the last few pages of the journal. My strength had been quickly deteriorating over the past week, and I figured that now was as good of a time as ever. If I waited more than a couple days, I would be too weak to drive and I needed to leave town before then. With a sigh, I managed to drag myself out of bed and began to toss a couple days worth of clothes into a bag, gathering up my phone and charger and stuffing them into the bag as well, before slinging it over my shoulder. I grabbed the letter from under my bed, leaving the journal in it's place on the bed, before making my way to the door and grabbing my car keys. Before I stepped outside, though, I stopped to take a final look into the mirror hanging by the door. A face that I didn't recognize, with big eyes and sharp cheekbones and a thin face, leading down to a slender neck and a body that may as well be a skeleton with skin stretched over it. Between the nausea preventing me from eating, the sore throat from coughing, and throwing up every meal I had tried to eat, it had taken a toll on my body, turning me into nothing more than a dead man walking. 

I took a deep breath, before opening the door and walking out, leaving it unlocked as I taped the letter into place on the door. On the front of the envelope, I had scrawled the names of my friends, addressing it to whoever showed up first. With another deep breath that nearly brought on another fit, I made my way slowly downstairs and into my car, setting the GPS to guide me to the hotel that was just minutes away from the hospital that I planned to die at.  
\--  
Hours later, I finally arrived at the hotel in the dead of night and checked in, taking the elevator up to the floor that I was staying on, and throwing myself down on the bed inside my room. I put my phone on the charger, before falling into a dreamless sleep, only to be awoken rudely a couple hours later by my phone going off. I ignored it, instead rolling over and going back to sleep.  
\--  
A day passed like that, sleeping on and off for most of the day and ignoring the messages that came in. But, suddenly, my health took a turn, and it wasn't good. I woke up the next morning and found that I couldn't breathe, dragging myself to the bathroom to cough and try to clear my airway of the petals that had gathered in my sleep. When I was done, I realized how weak I truly was, as I tried to pull myself up from the floor to walk back to the bed. Obviously, being away from Seungkwan had caused the disease to progress even further. 

I managed to crawl back into bed, forcing my weak arms to pick up my phone and open the group chat, quickly apologizing for being absent and claiming that I had been busy with the project. I sat for a moment, contemplating on how to get one of them to go to my apartment, before deciding that my story would be that I was at the store, and I forgot my wallet so I needed one of them to get it. I sent the message, before setting my phone down as a fit took over my body. However, I found it even harder to breathe this time, the onslaught of petals taking me by surprise. When it was finally over, I was gasping for breath, hunched over the small pile of petals on the bed in front of me. When I saw that some of them were dotted with blood, I realized that it was time to go. I reached over to the nightstand, staring at the base for a few seconds with wavering eyes, and dialed the lobby, asking for them to call an ambulance. When they asked why, I replied that I was dying. Seconds after I hung up, darkness took over and I fainted.   
\--  
Back in the city that (Y/N) had left behind, Seungkwan was curled up next to the love of his life, Vernon. Their phones chimed in unison, meaning that somebody had messaged the group chat. Vernon reached over and grabbed randomly at a phone, typing in the passcode and navigating to the chat. "(Y/N) is at the supermarket, and they forgot their wallet, and they need somebody to go get it." He relayed to Seungkwan, who nodded in understanding. Vernon watched as Seokmin offered to go get it for them, only getting a heart in reply. "Seokmin's going to get it for them." He added, before locking the phone again and tossing it to the side to cuddle up to Seungkwan once again. Not even fifteen minutes later, just as they were drifting off to sleep, their phones exploded in a flurry of texts. Seungkwan was the one to reach out and grab a phone, unlocking it with sleepy eyes and trying to take in the quickly moving text. He saw a flash of (Y/N), letter, and dead. His heart sunk, at the same time that his phone began ringing in his hand. He didn't even check the caller ID, swiping to answer it before bringing it up to his ear. The sound of sobbing greeted him, before a shaky voice began to explain. "Seungkwan, it's Soonyoung. (Y/N) is dying from Hanahaki in another town; we're coming to pick you up to go see them." Soonyoung quickly explained, sniffling in the middle of his sentence before hanging up. Seungkwan sat shell shocked, not coming too until Vernon nearly shouted his name, demanding to know what was wrong.

"(Y/N) is dying." was all he could say, before the tears rushed down his face and a sob broke from his mouth, quickly turning into two, and then three, and so many more that he couldn't count. 

Minutes later, they found themselves in the car with a glassy eyed Soonyoung driving and a sobbing Seokmin in the passengers seat. Vernon had the sniffling Seungkwan under his arm, trying to calm him down even though he was close to losing it as well. 

That was how they showed up the hospital in the next town over, asking for (Y/N)'s room. The nurse looked at the group of thirteen red-eyed men, some with tear trails still running down their faces and others still openly crying. Others, like Soonyoung, Seungcheol, and Jihoon, were still trying to be strong for their partners. However, when a nurse led them to the morgue where they saw (Y/N)'s lifeless body, the three strongest broke down, joining the others in mourning one of their closest friends, one of the ones that they had expected to be around for the rest of their lives.   
\--  
Over the next week, the various couples that made up their friend group took their time to begin healing. However, it was Seungkwan that messaged the rest and said that they needed to go clear out the apartment, the place where their friend had slowly withered away. 

Secretly, he hoped to find an answer. What he didn't expect, however, was to find the journal that his best friend had written over the last month of their life, and he certainly didn't expect to see a letter written in the back, addressed to him. He certainly didn't expect to see that, at the end of that letter, to see the eight words that caused him to break down into a sobbing mess. 

'Seungkwan, you are my soulmate, I love you.'


	17. Last Update

First, I know that I said I would be coming back next time with better writing and a new chapter, but I've decided to stop writing these one shots. 

Before I go into the reasoning, I just wanna say thank you to everyone that's stuck with me for the past year, everyone that's left kudos and kind comments: I love every one of you with all my heart and it means a lot to me to see new comments or kudos. 

The reason I've decided to abandon this collection of fics is just because I don't have the motivation for it anymore. I sit and stare at an empty page, and I can't find the will to actually write anything. 

That being said, I'm definitely not giving up writing! I'm starting an outline for a 7-9 part Cross Gene fic based off of Black Or White, as well as a Stray Kids royalty au (spoiler: Felix and Hyunjin are both princes, and all the kingdoms are very gay), and a fantasy NCT au! So uh, keep an eye out for those!

For now, it's time to say goodbye to Blind with Love, which has been my...very neglected...baby for the past year.


End file.
